Possession
by Goddess Usagi
Summary: Finally, several months after the defeat of Beryl, Usagi's memories of the Moon Kingdom are starting to come back. But the catalyst for her remembrance is something much more shocking - the Shitennou have returned, and they're not evil. UxM, SenXGen
1. Chapter 1

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**Chapter One**

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I opened my eyes slowly, my dull gaze sleepily surveying my surroundings. It was a familiar room, but only to a certain degree. I stared at the ceiling, momentarily confused, I felt lethargic, and my mind didn't assure me as to why I was here, or where exactly here was.

Nothing came to my aid, but I did not find myself panicked; instead I felt completely detached. I held the ceiling with my dreamy gaze for a moment longer, before my eyes slowly began to close, leaving me in darkness.

The darkness, however, did not last very long, and I soon found myself drifting in and out of frozen images, photographs in my mind if you will. Their occupants never moved an inch, as one would expect in a dream, yet I was only in their world for an instant before moving to the next. However, I reached one, which I could not leave, my eyes riveted upon the characters, each detail pervading my mind. Only when I moved, trying to reach out to these people, did the scene change, bringing me to the next horrifying image. There were five of these images in total, each as awful and saddening as the one before. A thread held each of these images together, a common factor – one of the pair in the picture was contorted in pain.

Their pain, and mine, seemed to have no end, as I was continuously bombarded by these five images, repeated one after the other, always in the same order. Four of the images held girls I knew, with powerful looking men standing over them; the girls were clad in Sailor fuku's, the men in blue uniforms, each situated in a dark garden, cobblestones at their feet and nature surrounding them. In the fifth, was me.

The first, a blonde, her long hair draped lifelessly around her pale face. One of her arms was outstretched, reaching weakly for the long haired man standing over her. His white blonde mane shadowed his face, but his intent could be seen in the way his sword had pierced her abdomen, red blood only just beginning to spill from her white bodice covered skin, the tip of his sword gleaming crimson in the light.

Her head was raised slightly, her golden eyes full of tears, her face contorted into a mask of overwhelming pain. It was obvious that the arm propping her up was about to fail, the ending of this inevitable – no one survived a wound like that. Especially when a deadly man such as him was standing over you, waiting coolly for your demise.

My eyes were filled with tears also, this girl was important to me. I could not let this happen to her. But I was powerless, I reached out a hand to her, and the image disappeared as quickly as it has arrived.

It was replaced by another pair, their roles shown the same way – a female against a tree, the male showing his doMinakonce with a hand around her neck. The girl was pale with short light blue hair, wearing a darker blue and white fuku with blue boots. Her arms limp at her sides, her legs dangling uselessly. Her head was turned to the side, resting on his hand, a red welt on her right cheek.  
The man's stance was powerful, and his long curly blonde hair didn't detract one iota from his handsomeness; he held one hand to her throat, the other reaching for his sword, an inch of silver metal shone from where it was partially pulled out of the scabbard.

Once again, I started forward, and was pulled to the next image.

By now, my face was covered in hysterical tears, this next image adding to the growing pain in my chest. I was bombarded by another pair, a dark-haired male and female, their hair reaching past their shoulders in waves.

The female crouched; her green eyes opened wide in shock and horror, staring at the blade, which pierced her chest, directly through the green bow and its pink centre. Her white bodice covered in dripping blood, her green skirt stained, dark green hair falling half out of its ponytail.

The man standing over her looked as though his heart was being torn out as he wounded hers. But his arms were firm, his hands tightened around the hilt of the sword, which had glided to effortlessly into her chest.

I sobbed, my chest heaving heavily, I couldn't breathe.

Another pair appeared – Please, let them be the last, I pleaded silently, ignored by whoever was causing this agony.

Here both male and female stood, by the male obviously held control. The female, a red-haired beauty with crimson eyes shrunk away from her aggressor. Her hands at her own throat, red with her own blood, a gash visible beneath her crimson fingers. She wore a red and white fuku, which was rapidly being turned one colour.

The male, his short blonde hair caught in mid wave, stood with a blood soaked sword dangling at his side, its purpose completed. His face was quietly determined, his eyes filled with fear.

I gasped for breath, and was taken to one final scene.

I saw myself.

Myself and a dark haired handsome man wearing a suit of armour and cape. He lay on the ground, obviously dead, his eyes closed, face pale, head slumped slightly, blood dripping from his mouth. He was laid out on the ground, arms at his sides, legs flat against the cobblestones.

I kneeled over him, tears filling my eyes, my long silver hair streaming out behind me, caught by the wind, my customary odangoes sitting firmly upon my head. I wore a long white dress with golden details, pearls around my wrist and strewn throughout my hair. The white dress was tainted by the blood rushing a the wound I had inflicted upon myself.

A sword had gone completely through my chest, emerging from the other side, killing the heart, which had truly died when the man had.

I collapsed to the ground, whatever ground it was that I landed on. My legs were no longer able to hold my grieving body. One word escaped my lips Why? Before I passed out, unconsciousness welcoming me gratefully.

Sometime later I became aware of my surroundings. I stood in the dark, only now recognising the faces, the people. My hands jumped to my chest, searching for a wound, which was not there. I breathed deeply. Closing my eyes, I took another breath, tears seeping between closed lids.

"Minako…Ami…Makoto…Rei…Endymion…" I whispered, filled with unimaginable dread, "No." The images bombarded me, and I screamed. Screamed for the friends I had lost, the soul mate taken from me.

I couldn't breathe again. I tried gulping and failed miserably, my eyes darting around the dark desperately. The five images came at me again, but with one terrible difference – this time, the people moved, and died, in front of my eyes.

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**Minako**

The first image came to me again, but with subtle differences – currently only Minakoko stood in the garden. She was surrounded by yellow daisies, her orange skirt waving in the wind, her golden hair mimicking its movement. 

She, however, did not move. She appeared to be waiting for something, some kind of signal. Her body was tense, arms held deceptively calm at her sides. Anyone else would have thought she was serene, Minako-chan was that good of an actress, but only one other person knew her like I did.

The silver haired man from the still image emerged from the dark path behind her, a small smile on his face. He walked towards her, reaching out a hand and resting it gently on her shoulder, his other arm moving around her waist, pulling her close to his body.

Minako tensed slightly, then relaxed, giggling at his movement while she turned her head to look up at him, a large smile gracing her features.

"Kunzite! I've missed you." She said, delightedly, watching as he smiled at her comment, then leaned down to kiss her.

"I've missed that," he replied, breaking away slightly. He spun her around to look at him, their eyes locked, gold with silver.

Then his face changed into a wickedly evil smirk, his arm moving too quickly, striking her face.

Minako fell back, shocked to her core, her blue eyes accusing. Her training, however, kicked in and she jumped up; glaring at the man she loved.

"What the hell was that for?!" She demanded of her assailant.

"You know what, Princess," he said scornfully, "I've just realised that you're only a silly, foolish child. I'm done with you." His voice was cold, deliberately cold, his words carefully crafted to rip her heart to shreds by attacking her insecurities. She stared at him, bewildered, then slapped him with all the force she could muster. He reeled back slightly, but did not fall, having anticipated her movement.

In response, he drew his sword. She glared at him, glancing only briefly at the gleaming silver in his hands. Minakoko walked back a few steps, looking at Kunzite with cold eyes.

"Love and Beauty shock!" She cried, sending her attack at Kunzite. He used his sword to deflect it back at her, the lunged forward, his sword stabbing through her abdomen. She stared at him, then at the sword embedded in her stomach.

Minakoko fell to the ground, propping herself up slightly on a wavering arm, the other reaching out to him, her blue eyes staring at him, filled with tears. He left his sword pointed at her, it had slipped out of her as she fell, its entire length coated with blood.

Kunzite stepped forward, grinning wickedly once again, daring her to try to hurt him. Minakoko struggled for breath, taking one deeply, desperately, then collapsed to the ground, her weak arm giving up on her.

He stood over her as she took her final breath, her white bodice completely stained in already cooling blood. Then he walked away, no sense of regret pervading his stance.

I had no chance to even consider what I had seen before being taken to the next.

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**Ami **

Ami sat on a bench in her garden, surrounded by electric blue irises. She held one to her nose, inhaling their scent, a small smile gracing her lips. She seemed completely at ease, utterly unaware of the events which had unfolded only minutes before, unaware of her sister's death.

She was waiting for her own love. He had sent her a message through the Palace Guards, asking her to meet him in this place. She had been delighted; she hadn't even known that he was on the Moon. 

Ami closed her eyes, remembering his face from the last time they had seen each other; she adored his long blonde hair, so different from her own, and the way he always seemed to capture her with his smile. She grinned.

A butterfly kiss was planted on her cheek and her eyes flew open, alighting upon the face she had only just imagined.

"Zoicite!" She cried delightedly, her arms reaching around his shoulders, kissing him deeply. She felt only a moment of happiness before she was pushed away. Ami frowned, tilting her head at him slightly, looking at him closer.

"Zoicite?" She questioned him, blue eyes registering her understanding as he smirked at her.

"Oh. Oh no. Zoicite. You can't have…You wouldn't have…" Ami turned away from him, trying to run from this confining space, but he blocked her only exit, slamming her against a nearby tree. She felt her back crack as she slammed against the tree, the force of the blow ripping the breath from her chest. Ami tried desperately to inhale, but found no relief. She coughed, trying to stimulate her throat and lungs again.

She managed one breath before he punched her, his fist connecting with her right cheekbone, sending her head into the tree. That arm, his right arm, then followed up upon its earlier movement, reaching around her neck, cutting off her airflow. Ami struggled, kicking and punching, her hands scrabbling at any part of his body she could reach.

The blue haired warrior managed to cause several long lasting bruises and scratches, but didn't inflict enough pain to make him release her.

She saw black spots emerging in her vision, when Ami felt metal cut into her chest. The pain was overwhelming; she tried to scream and found no breath to release it with. Her entire world went black.

Zoicite released her motionless body, wiping his sword on her bodice. He stared at her with conflicting eyes for a moment, flickering between sad and cold, before leaving to meet Kunzite.

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**Makoto**

Makoto's senses had always been fairly well developed, she had been second in their psychic powers class, after Rei, of course, so she felt her sisters' pain. The brunette gasped, her eyes opened wide, her body turning and moving towards the epicentre of the emanating waves of pain. 

She sprinted towards the gardens of her sisters, their favourite places on the Moon. Makoto found Minako first, horrified by the large amount of blood surrounding the blonde.

"Minako?" Makoto whispered, moving closer to the blood stained girl, her trembling fingers reaching out to her sister as she knelt in her blood.

"Oh, Minako… no," she said, pushing the blonde's fringe away from her face. Makoto paused for a moment, then picked her up, cradling her lifeless body against her chest.

Makoto carried her sister to Ami's garden, less than 50 meters away, and almost collapsed when she found the Sailor of Mercury laying lifeless on the ground. Makoto ran forward, placing Minako gently next to Ami. She reached out a hand, pushing and prodding Ami slightly, like a small child would, trying to wake her up.

There was no response, and Makoto collapsed forward, holding her friends tightly, covering herself in their blood. All she could smell was that awful sweet coppery scent.

Sobbing uncontrollably, Makoto pushed herself up, wiping her face with the back of her hand.

"I will hurt them," she swore, "I will hurt those who did this to you. I will cause as much pain as I can to them, because no pain of theirs will ever match up to the pain I feel at your deaths."

"You won't have that chance," came a voice from behind her; Makoto turned quickly to look.

Nephrite.

"What do you mean by that?" she demanded of him.

"Aren't you starting to connect the dots, Princess?" He replied scornfully, stepping closer to her.

"You? You did this?"

"No, of course not, my only goal is you."

"Quit playing with me Nephrite, who did this?!" She screamed at him, jumping to her feet.

"Why, my brothers of course," he said coldly, pausing briefly, "Oh, and Rei's next."

Makoto looked at him helplessly, angrily.

"Let me past, Nephrite," her voice was controlled, scarcely showing her inner turmoil.

"You know, I don't think I will."

"Let me go to my sister!" She screaming, her voice cracking; running forward, she landed a punch on his cheek, snapping his head back.

"You. Little. Bitch!" He yelled, backhanding her, "Do you honestly think that you'll ever leave this garden?"

"Yes," she snarled, charging the first attack which came to her mind, "Jupiter Oak Evolution!" It hit him, sending him back a few feet, not doing as much damage as she had intended –they had always been evenly matched when it came to fighting.

"Don't make me kill you," she warned, crouching down into a fighting stance, her eyes watching him as he wiped blood from his mouth.

'Oh, don't worry, I don't intend to," he drew his sword, and the next thing she knew, it was through her chest, directly through her green bows' pink centre.

Makoto could only look at him in astonishment, he had improved since their last bout, and she had never expected her love to be so resolute in killing her. She had trusted him, loved him, and had been ultimately betrayed by him.

She never had a chance to see the sadness and utter heartbreak in his eyes – she had fallen beside Ami and Minako long before he let it show. He stared at her body for a moment, realising this would be the last the would ever see of her, then turned away to meet his brothers.

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**Rei**

Rei kneeled in her own garden filled with undeniable terror and horror; she had seen each of her sister's demises, and had been powerless to stop each of them. She had knelt earlier, trying to determine when Beryl would arrive, for the higher powers to give her the information they desperately needed, and had been unable to move since, trapped by her own psychic powers. 

She knew Jadeite was coming for her, she'd had a nightmare about it weeks before, and had foolishly passed it off as just that, a nightmare. But after seeing her sisters attacked by the ones they loved most, Rei knew it had been a warning.

Rei breathed in deeply, inhaling the mixed scent of Casablanca lilies, daisies, roses and irises, blood and fire. Beryl had returned, but was not to reach the Palace for some hours yet; she had begun her reign of terror again, and Rei knew she could do little, if anything, to stop her.

"Luna," she called telepathically, "Tell the Queen that Beryl has returned," Rei cut off communication and stood. She closer her eyes for a moment, centring herself.  
"Goodbye, Sere."

Jadeite stood in front of her, his blonde hair waving in the slight breeze.

"You know why I'm here?" He asked her, meeting her eyes solidly.

"Partially," she replied dryly, "I know what you're here to do, but not why."

"Ah, so your visions didn't show you that much. Well, lets just say… Beryl is much more persuasive than Queen Serenity and yourself."

Her eyes narrowed slightly, trying to determine what he actually meant. Was he a youma in disguise? Brainwashed? A clone? Possessed by one of Beryl's strongest warriors?  
She was not to know in this lifetime.

"One last kiss?" she asked of him, moving closer, muttering a purging spell under her breath.

His lips met hers in a bittersweet moment, a memorial to the love they had shared. Then his slit her throat with his sword, leaving her no chance to ask more questions, to understand why.

She put her hands to her throat; hardly able to believe he had gone through with it.

"Goodbye, Rei," he said as she fell to the ground.

Jadeite, ever the considerate soul mate, placed the body of his love with her sisters, before going to meet his fellow Shittenou.

* * *

Beryl cackled, the last of her opposition dead or dying; Prince Endymion lay dead on the ground, Princess Serenity soon to follow, her Senshi killed by their lovers, now her Shitennou.

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I stood in the Palace, waiting for Endymion to arrive; I was dressed in my traditional Princess garb, my silver hair streaming to my feet from two odangoes.  
He was late – but he was never late, not to meet me. I was filled with a sense of dread and fear. I walked quickly towards the huge double doors that were the entrance to the Palace, striding through them as they were opened by guards, and out into the Palace gardens.

I assumed that if he were to be anywhere, it would be in the Rose garden where we first met.

I was not wrong.

He stood before Beryl, looking for all the world his part as an arrogant, defiant Prince of Earth. That was until he fell to the ground, killed by Beryl's power.

I choked, screaming his name, running towards his body and the evil taunting Queen.

"Endymion, no!" I cried, kneeling beside him, feeling it grow cold beneath my hands. It was only at that moment that I felt the absence of my guardians, my sisters.

"Ami, Minako, Makoto, Rei?" I questioned the air, "Where are…" I stopped, looming up at Beryl.

"You." I accused, grabbing my loves sword, standing and pointing it at her.

"You killed them. You killed them all."

She only smirked.

I took a deep breath, calling on the Ginzuishou, and lunged, stabbing her through the heart. My lessons with Endymion had not be for no use, and I quickly beheaded her.

Then I collapsed to the ground beside Endymion once more, hardly breathing as I resolved to follow him to the afterlife – I had no reason to go on without him and my Senshi sisters.

I gripped his sword in both hands, then ran it through my heart, calling out my prince's name with my dying breath.

I was not to know that I had not killed Beryl til I was reincarnated in another body, a different planet and millennia later.

* * *

Usagi sat up directly in bed with a small, muffled scream. She had known she was the Princess of the Moon for a few months now, but no significant memories had returned before tonight.

She was terrified as to what this meant.

They had defeated Beryl a month after she had discovered her (and Mamoru's) heritage; and Beryl was truly gone. The Shitennou, however, had been turned into their respective stones, and were now in Mamoru's possession.

After that dream, she was sure she wanted Mamoru to destroy them.

Usagi couldn't sleep after that, and, staring at the clock, wondered if it was too late for her to call Mamoru. Weighing the odds, she decided that it was best she call him, he would be so angry if he found out she hadn't. The phone rang, once, twice, before a bleary sounding Mamoru answered.

"Mamo-chan?" she asked softly, sadly.

"Usako? What's wrong?" he asked, waking up more as he heard the tone of her voice, "Has something happened?"

"Umm.." she replied, "I had a nightmare," she paused for a second, "but not a silly, I'm-afraid-of-the-dark type one, one from the last day of the Moon Kingdom. It was awful." Her voice cracked on that last word, silent tears running down her cheeks.

"Did you want to tell me?" He asked her gently, "Or did you want me to come over?"

"Yes, I do want to tell you, but not over the phone… umm, let me think for a minute. It's too late for you to come here, obviously, its got to be like, midnight at least," Usagi rambled, waiting for him to say something.

"Do you remember that little park a few blocks from your place? I'll meet you outside your house then we can walk there, and you can tell me, how does that sound Usako?"

"Oh, Mamo-chan, that sounds perfect. How long will you be? Take as long as you need of course…"

"I'll be… 20 minutes, is that okay?"

"Alright, I'll see you then. Love you."

"Love you too." They hung up their respective phones, and moved to get dressed. It was only at that moment that Usagi realised that Luna wasn't in her room, at the end of her bed where she usually slept until 5 minutes before Usagi had to leave for school. Usagi frowned, looking around her mostly dark bedroom, then shrugging it off – Luna would appear sometime.

She dressed warmly, it had been getting fairly cold lately, but that was to be expected, it was Autumn again, after all. She climbed out her window and onto the large tree which had grown there since before she was born, before dropping silently onto the ground. She leaned against the tree until she saw Mamoru approaching, walking silently down the sidewalk.

Usagi walked to him, smiling softly, wrapping her arms about his waist and taking all the warmth and comfort from him that she could. He kissed her forehead, turned and led her towards the small neighbourhood park. They settled themselves on the only bench, Usagi leaning into his side, Mamoru's arm around her shoulder. They sat this way for a moment, enjoying the ease and familiarity of this action.

"Mamoru. I saw them…"Usagi breathed deeply, "I saw us, die. In the Moon Kingdom. I saw each awful death, Minako, Ami, Makoto, Rei, you… me. I felt myself die, my own resolution not to live without you. I killed myself because you were gone, and I thought I'd stopped Beryl. I felt it all again, in such awful precision."

Mamoru drew her closer to him, whispering gentle platitudes, trying to calm Usagi down, she was so distraught.

"Shh, it's okay Usako, it was a long time ago, and we're here now aren't we? We're together, the girls are alive, we're alive, it's okay," Mamoru said to her, rubbing her shoulder comfortingly.

"I wouldn't be dreaming this if it wasn't important, Mamo-chan. I know I wouldn't. There's something about the way they died, not you and I, the girls. They were…" Usagi paused, tears running down her face, "The Shitennou killed them, one by one. Kunzite killed Minako, Zoisite took Ami, Nephrite stopped Makoto saving Rei, and Rei knew… she knew Jadeite was coming, she knew what he was going to do. The only thing she didn't know was why. I don't even know why. And I couldn't do anything to stop it, I didn't even realise they were dead until I saw you lying at Beryl's feet. I didn't… I couldn't… I failed them Mamoru. I failed everyone."

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	2. Chapter 2

"_I wouldn't be dreaming this if it wasn't important, Mamo-chan. I know I wouldn't. There's something about the way they died, not you and I, the girls. They were…" Usagi paused, tears running down her face, "The Shitennou killed them, one by one. Kunzite killed Mina, Zoisite took Ami, Nephrite stopped Mako saving Rei, and Rei knew… she knew Jadeite was coming, she knew what he was going to do. The only thing she didn't know was why. I don't even know why. And I couldn't do anything to stop it, I didn't even realise they were dead until I saw you lying at Beryl's feet. I didn't… I couldn't… I failed them Mamoru. I failed everyone."_

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**Chapter Two**

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"How could I not know they were dead, Mamoru? They were closer than sisters to me in the Silver Millennium. I didn't save them, I could've saved them if I'd known. Why didn't I know?" Usagi sobbed, pressing her face to his chest, "I should've known." 

"Usako, you couldn't have known. We both know you couldn't have. You had different powers a millennia ago, you were weaker in some ways, and stronger in others than you are now. I know you had training in wielding the Ginzuishou, but you have to remember that your mother had possession of it. Without it, you had almost no chance of knowing, of helping them," Mamoru held her, kissing her head, comforting her with his presence.

"But… they. And I… why didn't I? I should've…" she said brokenly, "Why would they kill them?"

"I don't know Usa, I don't remember much of my Shitennou, only that one of them was always around. But there must have been a good reason, I cannot believe that they would done this under their own power. I do remember that they loved their Senshi with all their hearts, so I know they could not have chosen to kill them. Just like I know that I would never hurt you if I had any control over it. And we both know how strong Metallia's power was, how good she was at brainwashing. She managed to turn me against you, and my love for you couldn't be purer." Mamoru winced, knowing he'd brought up a sore subject, they hadn't really had time to discuss his semi-betrayl, but it seemed to do the trick with Usagi.

She looked up at him, sniffling a little bit but no longer crying, "You're right, of course, you're always right," she said warmly, "But what do I tell the girls? Do I tell the girls? I'm not sure that I should… I mean, they don't remember very much from their past lives, Minako included, and I think one of them would have mentioned it if they remembered something so dramatic. I don't want to be the one to tell them that they were murdered by the people they loved and trusted most…"

"Usako, if you've started to remember, if you're having these dreams, then surely your Senshi will be soon to follow. You don't have to tell them if you feel it is best though, after all, we don't know all the facts about this yet." Mamoru removed his right hand from around Usagi and felt around in his pocket, frowning slightly, "I could have sworn I put them…" he trailed off, looking sheepishly at Usagi, "I'm sure it's nothing. Are you tired? Do you want me to walk you back to your house? Your parents will worry if they wake and you're not in your bed."

Usagi nodded, standing up and smiling at him through the darkness, "Thank you so much Mamoru for being so wonderful, I don't know what I'd do without you."

Mamoru blushed, standing and putting his arm around her waist, "The only thanks I need are having you next to me."

"Well, I can safely say I'm not going anywhere anytime soon." She grinned, walking with him back to her house, "I'm sorry I woke you up and made you come out here, I'm sure you're getting tired."

"I'm n-not," he said, stifling a yawn.

"Sure you're not," Usagi teased, reaching up on tiptoes to kiss him gently, "Sweet dreams, my prince. I love you."

"Love you too, Usako. Sleep well. I'll see you tomorrow," Usagi smiled in response, and climbed back up the tree and into her bedroom, Mamoru watching her every step. When he was assured that she was inside and safe, and after her goodnight wave and blown kiss, he smiled, walking back to his car.

It didn't take very long for Mamoru to reach his apartment due the late hour and subsequent lack of traffic, so it was soon after that he walked into the lobby, pressed the button for the elevator, and began fumbling in his left pocket for his door keys. A few minutes later he stood in his dark apartment, wracking his brain to try and remember where he had last seen Jadeite, Zoisite, Nephrite and Kunzite. He could have sworn that they were in his pocket when he left to go see Usagi.

Mamoru swore, he distinctly remembered placing them in his pocket, and he knew that they hadn't fallen out, he'd already checked the car and watched the path on his walk back with Usagi. Where on Earth could they have gone?

* * *

Minako tossed and turned in her sleep, making small panicked noises, obviously very frightened by the nightmare she was having. Artemis watched her, worried, unable to wake her and not even sure if he should. Finally after what felt like an eternity, she awoke with a gasp, sitting directly up, her blue eyes full of fear and terror. 

"Kunzite?" She asked her room, reaching for her lamp and turning it on, breathing heavily. She rested her head back against her bed's headboard, trying to make sense of the nightmare she'd just had.

"It felt like.. a memory." Minako whispered, frightened by what that meant.

"Minako? What did you say about Kunzite?" Artemis asked her sharply, his four feet padding on her bed as he moved to sit next to her.

"I… I think… I think I remembered something about him from the Silver Millenium," she said hurriedly, not wanting to tell him about how she had felt about Kunzite, or how he had betrayed her.

"What was it?" He questioned, his eyes trying to discern why she was hiding something from him.

"Nothing important, Artemis, and what does it matter anyway? He was destroyed when we stopped Beryl and Metallia. Now, lets just go back to sleep." Mina said, turning off the light and snuggling into her blankets, waiting for the white cat to move back to his position at her feet before allowing herself a moment to consider the dream.

Her mind was filled with the image of his cold eyes as he slid his sword into her body, and as he watched her die. A few tears slipped from her eyes silently, as Minako contemplated how she had felt about him.

_I can't believe he would do that, that he did do that. That wasn't my Kunzite. _Minako frowned, _My Kunzite? I feel like theres something else I ought to remember, something more to him. I should never have forgotten my sword that day…_ She was claimed by sleep once more, tormented by her own death, a thousand years before, at the hands of the one who loved and hated her most.

* * *

Rei knelt before the mystic fire, feeling the familiar vibrations of her family shrine, deep in meditation. She had been unable to sleep, and had lain in bed for hours before deciding to come and meditate, her restlessness usually a sign that the Great Fire was trying to reach her. 

"Great Fire," she intoned, beginning the ritual prayer, eventually finishing it with, "Share with me your knowledge."

Rei's eyes opened wide as the Great Fire communed with her before slumping to the ground, asleep, a memory of the Silver Millennium claiming her.

She watched from within her own body, powerless to change anything, as her past self tried to stop Jadeite and failed, once again feeling her blood and life rush from her body as he killed her, seeing the look in his eyes as she fell to the ground. Rei awoke with a scream, her purple eyes opened wide, seeing Jadeite's face in the Great Fire, knowing he had killed her in the past, dooming the Silver Millennium.

"If only I had been stronger…" she said softly, "If just one of us had survived, we could have saved Serenity, and the Moon Kingdom." She felt her heart tearing, ripping, at the though of her failure, and of his betrayal. She had known, the first time she met him, that she couldn't trust him, but they had fallen in love anyway, to hell with the consequences.

But the consequence… was her death, and the loss of the only people she had ever truly loved.

* * *

Ami sat in front of her Mercury computer, staring at it as though it would provide the answer to the disturbing events of her dream. She had never been powerless to find the reason for something before, never before this. But she had been dreaming the same dream for three nights now, tormented by its continuous cycle. Her computer wasn't sophisticated enough to tell her why she was dreaming this over and over again, reliving the horror of her own death at the hands of her love. 

Ami didn't understand why the only thing she could remember of him from their past life was the look in his eyes as he held his hand around her throat, and the awful feeling of betrayal. She didn't understand how she could have been so stupid, to fall into such an obvious trap, to fall for a man who could only threaten her Princess.

_I failed them, I failed myself. Why did I put love above the life of my Princess? If only I remembered more… why don't I remember more?_ Ami asked herself, looking at her motionless fingers, which were, for the first time, unable to type something into the computer which would give her an answer.

She touched one hand to her throat, the other to her chest, feeling for pain which hadn't existed in a thousand years. Both hands moved, placed over her heart, _there_ was a pain which had existed for a thousand years. A tear dripped from her eyes, she hadn't known why she had always felt incomplete, until she had seen that nightmare. She felt incomplete because she was missing her love, and she still didn't know what he had done to make her love him.

"Zoisite.." Ami whispered, "Why?"

* * *

Makoto awoke with a yell, leaping forward out of her bed, jumping as she would have, had Nephrite not stabbed her. She stood next to her bed, breathing heavily, trying desperately to forget those brown eyes. 

"Nephrite.." Makoto breathed, remembering all she could of the man who had killed her, taunted her so cruelly. She knew that there was more to their relationship than the way he had killed her, she knew the reason that she was so affected by her murder was that he had meant something important to her. If she thought hard enough, she could almost remember the sensation she felt as he wrapped his strong arms around her, threatening to never let her go. Almost.

_I would give anything to remember something more than that awful moment in time. _

She didn't think she would ever understand how he could have gone over to the other side, why he would chose Beryl over her and Endymion.

* * *

Four stones pulsated in the moonlight, hidden in a clearing amongst thick tall pine trees, spaced evenly, they grew, becoming larger than the average height of a man. Within them stood four men, each completely different, but wearing white and brown uniforms touched with gold, frozen in mid movement. 

The pale pink stone broke first, its inhabitant falling to his hands and knees, his long white blonde hair hiding his face. He sat up as the next stone broke, its blue-violet depths revealing a man with blonde hair pulled into a ponytail; Kunzite watched as Zoisite fell onto his back, revelling in the sky above him.

The next two stones smashed simultaneously, as though the pressure within had become too much, the different types of jade revealing Jadeite and Nephrite. Jadeite ended up sprawled on his front amongst the remnants of his stone, Nephrite however, managed to stop himself falling too badly with one hand. Each man stood, looking at the others intently.

Kunzite spoke first after a long silence, "Well," his deep commanding voice stated, "It appears someone has been kind enough to return us to our bodies."

"Easy enough for you to say," Zoisite joked, "Last time this happened, I was a girl! This is a significant improvement, if you ask me. Not to mention, we're no longer evil, that's got to be a bonus."

A millennia ago they had been imprisoned, along with Beryl, Metallia and all of their minions, by the Ginzuishou. Metallia had managed to break free, bringing Beryl and all of her followers back to life, with only one mistake – she had managed to reincarnate Zoisite as a girl, something he really hadn't appreciated.

"If I hadn't been so totally brainwashed and controlled, I might just have killed that woman myself for that particular transgression. Thank _you_ Sailor Moon for righting things," Zoisite praised the sky, happy to be back in a body he understood.

This time, however, none of them had any idea how they had managed to be revived; the last thing any of them remembered was being in Mamoru's pocket, being carried to the park where he had taken Usagi.

The Shitennou all laughed, relieved that they were not to be eternally punished – again.

"So…" started Nephrite, looking around at his brothers, "What do we do now?"

"Well, I suppose this is our second, excuse me, third, chance, so maybe we're here to fix things. You know, apologise to the Prince and Princess, that sort of thing," Jadeite said, skirting around the one subject which hurt the most – the Senshi. Jadeite, Nephrite and Zoisite looked at Kunzite, waiting for his command.

Kunzite appeared to be trapped within his own thoughts, and it took him a moment to realise that he was being stared at, "What? Oh, that's right, I'm the leader again," he had a sudden moment of normalcy, then reverted to a personality that hadn't been seen in years, "Back to Tokyo, then. Let's hope it isn't too far, especially since I have absolutely no idea where we are."

* * *

Luckily for Usagi it was the holidays, so she was free to sleep til midday, resting because her mid-night discussion with Mamoru had left her exhausted. Her sleep, however, was not uninterrupted, as her nightmare was interspersed randomly between regular dreams. 

She finally awoke slowly, trying to grasp whatever remnants of normal sleep she could, but failed miserably. The blonde trudged down the stairs and stared at the cupboard, looking sleepily for something to eat. She found some cereal and milk, sitting down to eat it ravenously. Properly awake now, Usagi walked back upstairs, leaving her family to think, for the third time that week, how scary it would be if she ever got her hands on coffee.

Usagi picked out a pretty blue dress to wear that day, deciding that it probably wouldn't hurt to call the Senshi and organise to do something with them that afternoon.

"Usagi?" Ikuko called from downstairs, "Some of your friends called earlier, saying that you'd probably forgotten about the study session you were having this afternoon at Hikawa shrine, and asked for me to remind you that it's at one o'clock."

"Thanks Mama," Usagi called back, blushing red, then said quietly to herself, "Darn it, I knew I'd forgotten something. But I could have sworn that meeting was tomorrow… oh well, I'd best get going."

She walked over to the shrine happily, revelling in the sunlight, glad to be able to spend the afternoon with her closest friends. She was greeted by Rei, Ami and Makoto, and was quickly informed that, for once, Minako was later than she was. Usually Minako took her position as leader of the Senshi very seriously, which manifested as manic domination during their important bi-weekly meetings, so for the blonde to be missing meant something serious was going on indeed.

Rei left for a moment then returned bearing tea and muffins, making Usagi squeal delightedly, grabbing one with chocolate chips eagerly which managed to earn her a frown from Rei, whose look was returned with a grin. Minako arrived soon after, soon enough to be grab the last muffin, and sat down to gossip with them. She was strangely silent about why she had been late, and she didn't demand they start the meeting immediately. To say Usagi was concerned would have been an understatement.

It was about twenty minutes later when Rei ventured in a comment, casually sliding in into the current discussion of the latest pop star.

"So. I had this dream last night…" she began slowly, drawing each word out, "And I think it was about the Moon Kingdom." Each girl stopped talking quickly, staring at the miko.

Usagi glanced at her friends and took a deep breath, "By the looks on everyone's faces, I'd say you weren't the only one," she quipped lightly, watching her friends nod slightly, before continuing more seriously, "and if I'm correct, you all dreamt about the Shitennou, and your own deaths."

She felt four pairs of eyes upon her, and then felt a single tear drip down her cheek, "I…" Usagi began, but couldn't finish, the tear followed by several others, she looked down at her lap, feeling miserable.

"I'm so sorry…" she finally managed to whisper, "that you… we… had to remember that. I truly wish it had been something happier." Her former Princess shining through.

Minako hugged Usagi, and they both drew the same amount of comfort from their embrace, "Rei? Did you want to begin?" She said, sounding more and more like the leader that she had become accustomed to being in the past few months.

Rei nodded, telling her sisters of her own experience, her death at the hands of Jadeite. She was followed slowly by Makoto's tale of bringing the bodies of her sisters together, only to be maimed by Nephrite. Ami told hers next, sharing Zoisite's cruel torture, and the tale was completed by Minako's telling of Kunzite's cold and effective attack.

"I wish I'd had the Imperium sword," she ended, admitting her failure as the protector of the Princess, "I would have stopped him if I'd had it, I know I would have. I'm sorry, Serenity. I failed you." Minako burst into tears, looking away from Usagi with shame.

"Venus," their princess said, "Endymion was already dead by the time you met with Kunzite. Nothing could have stopped me following him, not even you. None of you failed me. None of you could possibly have foreseen the events which occurred, or have compensated for them. It was only Beryl's fault, and none other can be held to blame."

Usagi smiled at them tearfully, taking control of her body once more, "See guys, Serenity doesn't blame you, I don't blame you. It wasn't our fault."

She received four teary smiles in return.

"I just hope this isn't a warning," Makoto stated, leaning back into the cushions behind her.

"Maybe its just a sign of our memories returning, after all they had to come back sometime," Minako offered, "Let's hope that's it."

* * *


	3. Chapter 3

Mamoru was almost frantic by the time he finished searching his apartment for the third time, looking desperately for the four stones infused with his former Generals. He overturned a pile of papers again, before sighing angrily and organising them appropriately. It was then that he heard the voice of Queen Serenity.

"I would stop worrying, Endymion," her apparition said warmly from near the dining table, "they are safe. They are being rewarded and will be returned to you soon, though in a slightly different form to what you have grown used to."

Mamoru smiled at his love's mother, relieved by her news, "Thank you, Queen Serenity," he bowed, "May I be allowed to know what type of reward, and how quickly they will be returned to my service?"

She smiled at him, "You may not, however I am pleased to note that your past lives manners are still with you. I am sure Endymion is as much a part of you as Mamoru is now."

Mamoru nodded, "It is true, we have been one since the final battle with Metallia. He is just shown more often when I am in such royal company. I am sure it is the same with your daughter."

"As, indeed, am I. Unfortunately, it is time for me to leave, since I was only to appear to tell you to stop fretting. Tell my daughter I love her. Goodbye, Mamoru." Queen Serenity faded from view, leaving Mamoru with only his ponderances, what on earth did she mean by rewards?

* * *

It took the Shitennou three days to reach Tokyo again, specifically Mamoru's apartment. The first day was spent finding their way out of the forest which surrounded the clearing, which took them much longer than they ever would have expected – they were Shitennou, darn it! They were supposed to know their own quarter of the world, but none of them had any clue where the paths led. Jadeite found a road at the end of that day, and they followed it until they reached Osaka. That journey in itself took another day, even with their heightened powers and strength. Outside Osaka they discovered a bullet train, speeding along, which they jumped on and rode til it reached Tokyo's main train station, Tokyo Eki. There were definitely perks to being Shitennou. From there they found a train, which took them to Juuban district, this time buying tickets with money they had scavenged from the previous train.

The four generals stepped off the train at Juuban station, and found themselves completely lost. None of them had ever had to find Mamoru this way, usually all they had to do was use their powers, but since being re-incarnated they seemed to be having technical difficulties. Also, not one of them could remember exactly where Mamoru's apartment was, only the district in which it was located.

It was about midnight by this time, and the only progress that they had made was a semi-familiar looking street full of closed shops. It was no surprise to Kunzite that Nephrite and Jadeite had deteriorated to arguing, with Zoisite watching in some amusement.

"It's this way, you baka!" Jadeite yelped, pointing his finger down the street in a general direction, "Don't you know anything?"

"I know which way it isn't!" Nephrite replied in a partially calm manner, "And I really don't think its up to you to decide where we're going."

"What, and you think that you should? Mr I-Look-into-the-heavens-to-determine-my-direction?" Jadeite retorted, crossing his arms over his chest in a huffy manner.

Zoisite and Kunzite smirked at each other, wondering where this argument was leading, and both knowing more about where Mamoru lived than these two.

Finally, Zoisite joined in, "Nephrite, Jadeite, stop it. If you recall (and maybe you don't), it was Kunzite and I who discovered Mamoru's true identity in our past life. And, if you manage to recall that, then you'll also remember that I found out a whole multitude of interesting facts about Mamoru, including his current residence?"

Nephrite and Jadeite stopped squabbling with each other to stare at Zoisite, then looked at each other.

"Lets get him!" They cried in unison, jumping on their brother good-naturedly. Kunzite only had to stare at them for a moment before they stopped attacking Zoisite; it seemed there were perks to command.

"Lead on, Zoisite," he said calmly, following his brother's path, leading them closer to their Prince.

* * *

Mamoru sat on his couch, frowning, feeling as though he was waiting for something. It was at least 1am, and he had already tried sleeping twice, failing miserably as this feeling of anticipation overwhelmed him.

He was curled into one of the arms, half concentrating on one of his school books, re-reading the same line over and over, before jumping back up a few lines and trying to start from there.

"Damnnit," he swore, throwing the book on the table, deciding that reading was hopeless. The dark haired man picked up the television remote and turned it on, constantly changing channels, not finding anything to interest him. He pressed the off button, stretching out to take up the entire couch, staring at the ceiling in confusion.

Why was it so hard to get to sleep? What was he waiting for?

* * *

Once they found the right general area, it wasn't hard for the Shitennou to pick out Mamoru's building, though Zoisite didn't seem to remember the apartment number.

They entered the apartment block, Jadeite used his telekinesis to open the lock, revelling in the power which was slowly seeping back to him; they reached the elevator and pressed the button, piling inside and staring at the numbers as the doors closed.

"So, uh… who remembers which floor he was on?" Zoisite asked tentatively, laughing nervously.

"Zoisite!" Jadeite said emphatically, "You can remember the entire way here, but you don't remember which apartment he's in? Baka!"

Kunzite shot them all a serious look and pressed the button for the 31st floor, "Surely someone other than me remembered that he was in the penthouse? No? Pity. Nice work on the directions though, Zoisite, it would have taken the others much longer to remember."

The four stood impatiently in the lift as it brought them quickly to the top floor, where, once the doors opened, they walked quickly out and up to Mamoru's door – 3101.

Jadeite, Nephrite and Zoisite looked at each other nervously as Kunzite knocked firmly on the door, not even stopping to consider the time of night it was and if their Prince was asleep.

* * *

Mamoru jumped as he heard a knock at his front door, frowning in consternation as he wondered who would be arriving at this time of night. He got off the couch cautiously, walking the few steps to his door, and looking out the peephole.

He almost fell back in shock as he saw the distorted faces of his Generals. It took him a moment to recover his calm before Mamoru opened the door, staring at the four men standing in front of him.

"Jadeite? Nephrite? Zoisite? Kunzite?" Mamoru said with a kind of wonder in his voice, "Is it truly you?"

"If, by truly you, you mean do we remember everything? Then yes, it's truly us," Jadeite quipped, grinning at his Prince. Mamoru stared at them for another moment, then stepped back sounding dazed as he invited them inside.

Mamoru indicated seats for them to take, Jadeite, Zoisite and Nephrite sitting on the couch while Kunzite chose the one matching padded seat. Mamoru pulled himself over a chair from his dining table set and sat in front of the, waiting for one of them to say something. When it was clear they would not speak before him, Mamoru began.

"So, this is what Queen Serenity meant by reward," he mused aloud, smiling softly, "Well, I must say, it is quite a reward." Mamoru stood, Endymion taking over his countenance.

"Stand, Generals," he commanded, watching in silent amusement as they fell over each other trying to get up off the couch, "Kunzite, why is it that you are here?"

"You are my Prince, my lord, and I have sworn my life to you. I wish to prove to you my guilt over my previous actions, and to beg humbly for your forgiveness in this matter, though it be more than I deserve," Kunzite knelt before Mamoru, his head bowed.

"Jadeite, why is it that you are here?" Mamoru repeated, looking only briefly at the man at his feet. Jadeite replied the same Kunzite, repeating his actions. Mamoru asked the same question of both Zoisite and Nephrite, receiving the same response. Only after Nephrite had knelt did Mamoru look at them properly.

"Look up, Generals, and see my face. While it is true that you have committed grievous crimes, not only against myself and my love, but your own loves and planet, I find myself unwilling to punish you. I feel that your years as part of the enemy have been penance enough, and no punishment I will give you can ever be as cruel as that. However, I ask of you one request," Mamoru said, seeing the four relax slightly, nodding eagerly, (well except for Kunzite, but he was never one for eager, only dignity), "That until I have a chance to tell Serenity of this turn of events, you will not see her or her Senshi."

"And, once I have told her, you will not see the Senshi til I deem it okay, and until Serenity agrees with me."

The Shitennou stared at their Prince, half hidden shock in their eyes, before bowing their heads once more, "it shall be as you say, my lord," they responded in unison, staring at the ground. Mamoru smiled sadly, before speaking once more:

"Then you may stand, in the knowledge that you are forgiven, by myself at least."

The four stood, regret colouring their stances, and not one of them could remember one good reason why they had betrayed him. Mamoru smiled at them, happy to be back in their safe and reassuring presence.

"Well, then we only have one other problem: where on earth are you going to sleep? This apartment obviously isn't big enough," Mamoru paused, "I can safely say that was one of the only two good things about having you all as stones – you didn't take up much room!" they all laughed.

"Well, I for one am tired enough to just fall asleep standing up," Jadeite quipped, "So almost anything is an improvement on that." The other four nodded, looking to Kunzite.

"I think that we should be able to manage with this room, if one of us takes the couch, the other two those reclining chairs, then I'll take the floor." Mamoru frowned at Kunzites words, thinking deeply, then he smiled, looking into the hallway behind him.

"If you'll excuse me a moment, I think I have a much better solution." Mamoru disappeared into the hallway, the Shitennou heard the sound of a cupboard being opened, and something large being dragged out, knocking other inhabitants of the closet as it passed. A moment later they saw Mamoru dragging two foam mattresses, leftover from the previous inhabitants.

"Well, these should do nicely. I'd almost forgotten about them. Oh, and the couch folds out too, so there ought to be plenty of beds for everyone, until we work out some other arrangement." Mamoru grinned at them, then yawned slightly, watching amused as the other four followed suit in both cases, "and I think that is the sign that we should all get some shut eye. I'll just grab you some bedding and we can all sleep til late tomo- today."

Mamoru followed his word, picking up sheets and blankets and giving them to the Shitennou, "I'm sure you all remember how to make a bed," he grinned cheekily, "I'll see you in the morning, goodnight." Leaving the Generals to work out which sheet went where – it had been a very long time, if ever, since they had ever had to make beds! In fact, it took Zoisite almost twenty minutes to work out what Mamoru meant by "the couch folds out", and he was the most studious of the four.

However, once they were snuggled up into their covers, after Zoisite and Nephrite had finished arguing over who got which coverings, they fell immediately asleep, not to be woken until late the next morning.

* * *

"Neeeephrite," Jadeite whined, "Give me back my blanket! It's not nice to take things from sleeping people. Especially cold sleeping people!" He heard no response, and opened his eyes slowly, unwillingly, to see three men standing over him with evil grins. Needless to say, Jadeite awoke immediately.

"Even when said person has slept til 10am?" Nephrite asked teasingly, also taking his sheets, "The rest of us were up and hour ago, you lazy thing. If you don't get up now, the Prince will be up before you, and that will completely ruin your reputation as a bright bubbly morning person."

"But I've never been a bright bubbly morning person," Jadeite grumbled, throwing off the sheets and climbing out of the fold out bed, knowing better than to continue lying there – his brothers were known for playing tricks, and Jadeite didn't feel like being the victim of one today, even when he was usually the perpetrator.

"Ah, but the Prince doesn't know that," Zoisite added, offering Jadeite his shirt, "And you wouldn't really want to remind him otherwise."

"You're right, I hate it when you're right," Jadeite said, getting dressed, before quickly perking up, "So, what's for breakfast?"

Kunzite looked at him severely, "We wait til the Prince gets up, of course, then we follow his lead."

"Aww, lighten up Kunz," Jadeite said, "I'm sure Mamoru wouldn't mind us eating, after all the last meal we had was… come to think of it, I can't remember our last meal," his stomach growled, "And see, Tum can't either!"

"Did you just name your stomach?" Nephrite asked, laughing slightly at Jadeite's petulant look.

"So what if I did? I demonstrated my point, didn't I?"

"Be quiet you two, we'll just wait for Mamoru to wake up, then follow his lead, same as always," Kunzite said, sitting down on the bed, staring at the other three until they did the same. Jadeite was the last to sit back down, grumbling under his breath.

"I have a better idea, how about I go find food, and come back with it? Surely one of us has money," Jadeite suggested hopefully, looking to Kunzite.

"Sure, if you think you can find something 100 yen can buy?" Kunzite replied, staring at the door to Mamoru's bedroom.

Jadeite sighed, "You know I can't. But it was a good thought…" Luckily for Jadeite, Mamoru had heard their conversation, and opened the door, walking towards them rubbing his eyes.

"There's food in the cupboard, feel free to help yourselves. I probably should have mentioned that last night, shouldn't I?" He asked sheepishly, barely able to finish talking before Jadeite started opening doors in the kitchen, pulling out anything edible. Mamoru looked at him with an odd look, "I suppose I don't have enough food to feed 5 grown men either. Guess we're going to have to go shopping." Mamoru smiled at them, leading the other three into the kitchen where he started pulling out bowls and glasses, placing them on the bench.

It turned out that Mamoru only had enough in his cupboard for one meal between the five of them, and that was including food, which was not normally consumed in the morning. He looked mournfully at his kitchen, knowing that until the Shitennou got back onto their feet he would be feeding them, and that it was going to be expensive.

"Alright," Mamoru said when they finished eating, "I'm going to need to take a trip to the supermarket – that is, if you want to eat." He laughed as three out of the four Shitennou nodded eagerly, "Okay, so Kunzite, Nephrite, do you want to come with me? That way we can get everything we need and carry it back, and you can get a feel for the land again."

"That's a very good idea, Pr-" Kunzite paused, watching Mamoru to check if it was okay, "Mamoru. Selene! That's bizarre."

Mamoru smiled, "So, we'll leave in a few minutes, after I find you guys something else to wear, because you'll stand out in those uniforms. Um, Zoisite, over there is the computer; it's already hooked up to the Internet and connected, so all you need to do is move the mouse. Then, click on the Mozilla Firefox icon, and use the keyboard to type anything you want to learn about into the Google homepage search tool. You'll see what I mean," he said, when he saw the confused looks on each of the Generals faces. "Jadeite, here's the television remote," he picked it up and threw it to him, "Press the red button then use the up and down buttons to change channel. Enjoy. Alright, Kunzite, Jadeite, follow me."

Mamoru led them to his bedroom, then told them to stand for a moment as he gave them deconstructing looks, trying to determine exactly which of his clothes would fit them. This was definitely going to be an issue. While Kunzite was about the same height and shape as Mamoru, Nephrite was about a half a head taller than them both, and of a completely different build. Mamoru turned, frowning into his wardrobe, pulling out a pair of jeans and a grey button-up shirt for Kunzite to wear. He stared deeper into his wardrobe, finding a slightly longer line shirt that was hidden in the back of his closet, never worn but always intended to be returned. Mamoru pulled the shirt out; it was white with small vertical green stripes, then pulled out a pair of slightly too long black pants whose hems had fallen down, making them the perfect length.

Mamoru held the clothing out to the men, before delving back into his closet, searching for shoes, and eventually finding his prey. "Excellent, get dressed, I'll meet you at the front door. And you might want to do something about your hair, it's a bit distinctive like it is."

A few minutes later, the now normal looking Shitennou walked towards the front door, their hair tied back with one of Zoisite's hair elastics each; they were still very attractive men, and would be noticed for their appearances, not for their differences.

"I'll lock the door behind me," Mamoru said, picking up his keys and wallet, "Don't you dare open it for anyone. Especially if Usagi comes over here with some of the Senshi. Have fun." He told the entranced pair, who answered with grunts, Jadeite was fascinated by the television, Zoisite by the amount of information available at his fingertips – literally.

Mamoru led Kunzite and Nephrite through Juuban, walking around the corner to his local supermarket, praying that he wouldn't see another person who frequented this particular store. He grabbed one of the trolleys, and took the other two through the aisles, picking up bulk items of food and other necessaries that they would all need. They were halfway into the third aisle when Mamoru spotted that person, a girl in fact, Makoto by name. He swore, "Kunzite, Nephrite, wait here. And pretend you're shopping, grab things off the shelves etc, just don't act like you know me."

Mamoru walked up to Mako-chan, greeting her with a smile and a "Good Morning, Mako-chan."

"Mamoru-kun, how are you today? Going to see Usa-chan later?" Mako asked happily, looking through the various fruit on display.

"I'm good, thank you Mako-chan, and yes, I was thinking I would go see Usako later, I haven't seen her nearly as much as I would like to lately."

Mako laughed, "Knowing you, that would be everyday."

Mamoru nodded, "You know me too well Mako-chan."

He saw her frown at something behind him, "Mamoru-kun, do you know that man? He seems to be looking at you rather intently."

Mamoru turned around and saw Nephrite looking around the corner of the aisle, staring at him and Makoto; he glared at the offending Shitennou, and smirked when someone, obviously Kunzite, pulled him away.

"No, sorry. I don't recognise him."

"How odd," Makoto shrugged, "He reminds me of someone though…" she smiled, "Probably my old sempai."

Mamoru laughed with her, and then smiled, "I'm sorry Makoto, I'm going to have to get some of my shopping done if I want to see Usako this afternoon. I'll see you tomorrow at that meeting?"

"Definitely, don't worry about it Mamoru, I'll see you tomorrow." Makoto walked away, leaving the supermarket, obviously not having found the ingredients she was after.

Mamoru sighed in relief as he watched her go, walking back to Kunzite and Nephrite, he saw them looking at pasta.

"What were you thinking?" Mamoru said to Nephrite, slightly angry, "That's Makoto! Sailor Jupiter!" Nephrite flushed red.

"I'm so sorry, your Highness. I was just watching you when I thought I saw a familiar face. When I realised it was .. Well her, I became a bit dumbstruck. She's just as beautiful as I remember."

Mamoru patted his shoulder, "That's okay, Nephrite. Just please, don't do it again. She thought she might recognise you from somewhere, and until I have a chance to talk to Usako, that isn't a good thing."

Nephrite nodded, embarrassed, and turned to the shelves, "So, what are these?" he said, holding out some sugary breakfast cereal. Mamoru laughed, "Pure sugar in cereal form Nephrite, you wouldn't want to see Jadeite after eating those, it might be a little scary."

* * *

Zoisite sat in front of the computer, entranced by the possibilities of the machine, Jadeite still sat on the couch, eagerly watching the television. He flicked from station to station, settling only briefly on one before switching to the next. It was then that he saw something which caught his eye, flicking past it quickly before flicking back. There was no doubt that it was the Sailor Senshi uniform. Jadeite leaned forward, intent to learn what had happened since their last encounter.

"…. Have not been seen in three months now, leading experts to wonder if they really existed at all, and if it was all some kind of hoax. The only evidence of their initial existence is in archives of this news station, and no one seems to remember why they appeared in the first place…"

Jadeite yawned; obviously Sailor Moon had wiped everyone's memories after the final battle with Beryl and Metallia, her pure energy forcing everyone to almost completely forget their existence. This one news item was probably a fluke, someone looking back into their past recordings and finding an anomaly.

"Hey, Zoisite, want to look something up on that computer?" Jadeite asked, reaching one hand over the back of the couch and looking at him. Zoisite turned and replied, "Sure, Jadeite, what did you want me to search?"

On a whim, Jadeite suggested, "The Sailor Senshi." Zoisite's eyes widened as he looked at his fellow Shitennou, "Well, Mamoru never said we couldn't research them, just that we couldn't see them in person!" Zoisite nodded, turning back to the computer and typing in the terms, staring at the screen as hundreds of websites came up. Jadeite came over and looked over his shoulder, pointing at one on the screen.

"Try that one," he said, grinning as Zoisite did as he said, both their eyes widening as they saw the content of the page. "Mars…" Jadeite whispered, staring at the dark-haired Sailor Mars whose image was on the screen, next to each Sailor Mercury, Sailor Moon, Sailor Venus and Sailor Jupiter.

"Ami…" Zoisite murmured, his eyes taking in every detail of her, from her blue boots to her blue hair, he looked at Jadeite briefly, "They haven't changed."

"No, they haven't."

They looked at the page until just before Mamoru, Nephrite and Kunzite came home, entranced by the girls they loved.

* * *

Watching the Generals snack on some food from the cupboard, Mamoru grabbed his wireless phone and took it into his bedroom, dialling Usagi's cell number. She picked up on the third ring, answering with a bright "Mamoru!"

"That's cheating! You looked at the caller display!" Mamoru replied jokily.

"Well, of course silly! I was just thinking of calling you. Can I see you this afternoon?" She said happily into the phone, smiling at his voice.

"I was about to ask you the same thing. The park, in about an hour?" Mamoru suggested, waiting for her reply.

"Perfect, I'll see you at our bench. Love you Mamo-chan."

"Love you too, Usako. See you then." Mamoru hung up, grinning, opening the door and calling out, "Guys, I have to go out for an hour or so, when I leave, same rules as before apply. And try not to eat all the food!"

"Okay, we won't," Jadeite replied, his mouth full of snack food. The other three laughed, "liar," Nephrite joked, "Mamoru will be lucky if it's not all gone by the time he leaves!"

* * *

Mamoru locked the Shitennou inside his apartment, and walked a few blocks to Juuban Park, sitting on the bench by the lake as he waited for Usagi. She appeared from behind him, surprising him with a set of hands over his eyes.

"Hello, Usako," he said in a low voice, grabbing her hands and pulling her giggling form onto him, "How are you?"

"I'll be a lot better if you kiss me," she said through her giggles.

"As the lady requests," he replied, meeting her lips with his own in a short sweet kiss.

"Much better, now, I have some news…" Usagi began, looking nervously at Mamoru, who nodded encouragingly, "It turns out the girls had the same nightmare I had, except that theirs were confined to just their own deaths. I just don't understand why we had them."

Mamoru smiled sheepishly, "I might have the answer to your dilemma." He said, watching as her eyes light up with curiosity.

"Well, tell me Mamo-chan!" She demanded, as he didn't continue.

"Okay, just don't be angry at me about this. Remember it isn't my fault." Usagi nodded suspiciously, "The Shitennou… might… possibly… have… come-back-to-life-and-be-staying-at-my-apartment." He rushed the last part after drawing out the first half of his sentence, which did him no good, considering that Usagi was the Professor of Speaking Quickly.

"The Shitennou have WHAT?" She yelped, falling off his lap and onto the soft grass, staring at Mamoru in shock, watching as he nodded guiltily.

"Uh-huh. And they're sleeping in my living room. And they ate all my food. But they're good again. Isn't that a bonus?" Mamoru replied, reaching a hand down to pick Usagi up.

"Definitely a bonus. Can I see them?" she asked, sitting next to him and threading one hand with his.

"That depends, Usako. Are you going to be your amazing charming self?" Mamoru teased, kissing her forehead.

"Of course! So can I?"

"I wouldn't dream of having it otherwise." Mamoru replied, kissing her again, "Now lets forget about these Shitennou-Senshi problems and have a little fun, how does a chocolate milkshake sound?"

"Wonderful! And after that we'll go see them!" Usagi grinned, jumping up and pulling Mamoru after her, who grinned and led her to the Crown Arcade.

"Anything you want, Usako."

* * *

The Shitennou proceeded to amuse themselves within Mamoru's apartment, exploring each cupboard and cranny; reminding themselves of the normal items within everyday homes.

Three out of the four Shitennou jumped when a key turned in the lock, the door opening and revealing Mamoru and Usagi. The fourth Shitennou, Kunzite, did a different type of jumping, rising to his feet and walking to stand in front of Usagi, kneeling before her. The other three Shitennou saw their leader's action, and followed suit implicitly, their heads bowing in unison, awaiting Serenity's words.

Usagi looked to Mamoru, then down at the Shitennou, staring at the top of their heads, "It isn't my forgiveness that you want," she began, smiling slightly as they looked up at her, shocked, "Its my Senshi, and I know that, but I need to ask that you don't see them yet. They've only just started to remember you, and so far all they've seen is their deaths. So, until they begin to remember the happy things, their love, and I promise I will tell you when they do, I need you not to see them. Because I want them to forgive you when it comes time, and I want you to have the most chance of that. I hope that something you did in the past will explain what happened with Beryl. But I forgive you. You helped us in that final battle, and that, for me, made up for your defection. I understand that it wasn't you who did all those things, that you were controlled by the dark power, like Endymion was. So stand, and regain your former positions as the protectors of the Prince of Earth."

Usagi laughed at the end of her small speech, "But I think we're going to have to find you somewhere to stay. Mamoru's apartment obviously isn't big enough, and even he doesn't have enough money to feed you for the rest of your lives."

"I think I have a solution to that," Mamoru added, "we try and find you jobs, but until that time, which had better be soon, I'll find an apartment for you to stay in."

Kunzite stood up, looking slightly guilty, "That might not be necessary. If I remember correctly, Zoisite and I had a place nearby, which we bought before the fall of Beryl, that we used for plotting and that kind of thing. Also, Nephrite started a bank account back then, with money the youma brought to the Dark Kingdom…"

"Maybe I won't need to contribute too much then. Except for finding you jobs, that could be interesting." Mamoru smiled, "So, which one of you is cooking dinner for Usako and me?"

* * *

**Hey again guys, hope you're liking this. I know I'm loving writing this :D **

**As one of my good friends says, "I'm a review addict, feed my habit."**

**xx Usa**


	4. Chapter 4

* * *

**Chapter 4**

* * *

Later that night, Rei lay in her bed, eyes firmly shut in the hope that his face would not reappear to her. All day she had been plagued by her own death, the pained look in his eyes as he took her life away, the rest of his face determined and hard. She curled her body tightly into itself, her arms wrapped around her waist, trying desperately not to let the tears which threatened fall. She felt like she had been torn apart inside, her heart repeatedly stabbed until it was only a mere shred of its former self. 

Rei refused to think his name, to remember his face from a time when it did not have that, that evil tinge to it, yet her mind betrayed her, showing her the face she had loved most – his self-satisfied smug smile with his shining blue eyes full of delight, usually at her expense – it had always made her heart jump a little, disbelief that he was hers, but that was all she had that was good of him. Of course, things didn't stay that way for long, Beryl had poisoned his soul and taken him away from her.

Rei pushed those horribly happy memories away from her, they hurt too much, pulled too hard at the stitches which were keeping her heart from falling apart. He had killed her, murdered her, and shown no remorse, no care, no hint to his being that they had meant everything to each other. They had understood each other from the first day – no. She wasn't going to think about that.

It was a torment, to have had no memories a week ago, and then to be bombarded with all the bad ones in a few days. A tear slid down her cheek as she fell into another deep slumber, praying to Mars that this time it wouldn't be another nightmare, she could have only so many nights full of weakness, and she swore tonight would not be another one – the Sailor Senshi of Mars was not weak!

She was immediately plunged into another memory from the Silver Millennium, Rei could tell because it had the same clarity as the last two nightmares, repeated images of her death. Yet here the sun was bright and the Earth was high in the sky, there was no hint of blood or death in the air, indeed everything seemed quiet and peaceful.

The Princess of Mars found herself trapped within her former body, acting out the memory as it had occurred, each movement familiar to her. Rei was sitting on a bench in the Inner Courtyard of the Palace, relaxing in the delicate sunshine and revelling in its warmth. Her violet eyes were closed against the brightness and she sighed, making herself comfortable by wedging herself into the join between the armrest and the wooden back.

Mars sat there in complete bliss for a few moments, it was her day off, Venus and Mercury were protecting the Princess, and so neither her nor Jupiter had any duties for now. Everyone was planning on having a quiet relaxing day, no duties of the State were planned, Queen Serenity was off visiting Neptune and Uranus, and thus only two Senshi were needed to guard.

Her contentment was disturbed a minute later, however, by the brush of a hand through her long hair, which had been left dangling over the seat. Rei's eyes flickered open, her hand curled around a fireball she had called upon the moment she had heard the footsteps entering the courtyard. Eyes closed, she held out the fireball in the general direction of where a servant would be if they were coming to annoy her.

"It's my day off, and if you are here to disturb me, I swear on Mars that you _will_ lose your eyebrows."

This was her standard phrase when it came to being annoyed on her days off, so by now most of the staff knew to avoid this particular courtyard on those days, however every now and then there was one who was a little denser than the others.

There was no movement, and Rei frowned, huffing slightly she opened her eyes and released the fireball simultaneously, however there was no one in front of her to hit, only a tree stump placed there for this specific purpose. Turning her head slightly to the right, she found the source of her irritation, and looked up at him in annoyance.

"Mars, after all those times you've tried to set me on fire, you must have known that eventually I would learn to step out of your immediate firing range," he spoke calmly, irritating her even more.

"Damn it! Jadeite! Surely you know better - " she was cut off by a kiss, which she refused to let herself melt into, even though it was just so good, and it had been so long since they had seen each other.

"Better now?" Jadeite asked arrogantly, taking one hand and pulling her up on her feet.

She stared at him for a moment, taking in every detail, his handsome face contorted into the smirk he reserved only for her. He was dressed in the official garb of the guardians of the Prince of Earth, his grey uniform fitting perfectly as always, she reached out a hand and found the material soft under her touch.

"When did you get here? Why didn't you tell me you were coming?" She scolded, sounding more like Minako than her usual serious self.

Jadeite pulled her tight to his chest, kissing her lips passionately before replying, "Because I wanted to see your reaction, and let me tell you, it was worth the anticipation!" He laughed and placed her back on the ground, grinning at the dumbstruck look on her face, "My presence stuns you! You're still trying to process that I'm here, aren't you?"

Rei's eyes twinkled as she took his one of his hands in hers, while the other snaked up around his neck, "Not anymore I'm not," she stated, her face becoming more seductive, "So, were you planning on taking advantage of your time here, or not? Because I can leave if you - " Her words were cut off by his lips meeting hers once again, his free hand wrapping around her waist and pulling her closer to him. She melted into him, rejoicing in his presence, reminding herself quickly of the wonderful feelings he filled her with.

"I missed you," he murmured when they pulled away, "I couldn't stand waiting another month until Endymion deigns to revisit the Moon, although we both know he's been sneaking up here every few days, he couldn't possibly be bothered to bring his faithful servants with him."

Rei hit him playfully, "Don't be rude to your Prince, he's the reason you met me in the first place."

"Silly me, you're right," Jadeite replied jokingly, "I should be worshipping him eternally for that wonderful service he did me, even if he did get Serenity out of it as well." They kissed again, but were interrupted by the entrance of a Palace servant, Jadeite groaned after the man had hurriedly excused himself, "Can we find somewhere private to be, please?"

"I don't know Jadeite, what am I going to get out of this?" Rei responded teasingly, her lips settling next to his ear. He turned his head and met her lips with his own, answering her question through a kiss. Rei's heart pounded in her chest, the most wonderful feeling of happiness imbuing her entire body; he pulled away, panting slightly, waiting for her reply - "Oh, right. Why didn't you say so earlier then?"

* * *

Rei's eyes opened wide as she awoke in her own bed, the memory-dream haunting her mind, overwhelming the memory of her death that she had seen too many times. She felt so, so unbelievably consumed by love, and it hit her a moment later that the love had been ripped from her by Beryl. She could feel her heart breaking as she realised she would never see him again. 

He was never going to return to her, and the stitches which had held her heart in place, after feeling him kill her, snapped, leaving her heart in so many pieces that Rei doubted she would ever be able to put it back together again.

No one could shake this kind of heartbreak.

She felt utterly destroyed, why would the memories return now, now of all times, when the universe knew he could not, would not, return to her. Surely life was much easier to bear before she remembered his presence, his importance to her, to remember the love which had defined her purpose so long ago.

Rei allowed herself a moment of complete and utter self-destruction, wallowing in the heartbreak, before she began slowly walling the pain off, trying desperately to forget the all too vivid memory, because if she didn't, it would be the end of her. She knew this from experience.

* * *

Jadeite sat sombrely in the tree outside her window, watching as she hardened her face and pulled herself back into a ball, falling asleep; he felt utterly miserable knowing that he was unable to comfort her. He wondered if he was the cause of her pain, for it had always seemed like no one could crack that hard exterior, no one except for himself.

He looked up at the sky, and prayed that she would remember the good things about their relationship soon, before he went mad with loss.

Then he swore, realising the time, and quickly made his way back to Mamoru's empty living room – he was the first back.

* * *

Mina lay on her side, curled into a tight ball similar to Rei's, her eyes firmly shut against the intrusion of the moonlight through her golden curtains. Artemis was sleeping downstairs tonight; giving her the privacy she had sorely needed after the last two nights filled with the same nightmare. 

She couldn't decided whether or not it would be a good thing to fall asleep; she was afraid the nightmare would return, but was even more afraid that some other memory would seep into her dreams. But there was always the possibility that this other memory was a good one, and that tiny piece of hope was what made her want to fall asleep. She had been denied her past for so long, been so desperate to reclaim that hidden side of her, that even the nightmare would be welcome.

Mina knew, mostly from the nightmare, of the love she had held with Kunzite; it was a love, she could tell, that was almost a rival to that of Usagi and Mamoru's, and that thought scared her. She had never found someone worthy of that kind of love in this life, and to give it to a man who no longer existed was a terrifying thought – she knew that such an unrequited love, with a dead man, could only tear her apart.

But Mina felt herself slipping, too many days filled with work and too many nights filled with not enough sleep had left her exhausted, and with no other choice, she succumbed to the darkness.

* * *

Mina found herself in a memory, though thankfully not the nightmare once more; no, this time she was clothed in a long golden gown, the silk perfectly fitted to her curvaceous form. She was a visitor in her former body, mimicking the movements she had performed a millennia ago; in this guise, she was the Princess of Venus, controlled and well educated, a proper young lady. Mina well remembered the different personalities expected from each of her guises, Sailor Venus had to be strong, the leader and protector of the Princess, only when she was alone in her rooms was she allowed to be just plain Mina, the bright bubbly girl her friends all loved. 

She was walking down the main hall of the Palace of the Moon, her heels clicking against the snowy white marble floor as she strode towards her goal – the double doors which were the entrance to the private quarters of the Inner Princesses. All she had wanted to do on this particular day, Mina remembered, was to lock herself in her room and not come out until the festivities began the next day. Of course, such desires were never fulfilled in the Palace, where there was always **someone** wanting your attention for some banality or another.

A hand touched her shoulder, and Mina jumped, surprised that someone was able to sneak up on her, the leader of the Senshi and Sailor Venus! She whirled quickly to face them, her expression already contorting in irritation as she expected another duty to be heaped into her lap by another annoying attendant.

Instead, she found herself face to face with Kunzite, his usually serious blue-grey eyes sparkling with amusement and her expression quickly turned to one of delight.

"Kunzite!" she shrieked in excitement, laughing happily as he pulled her into his arms and spun her around quickly. Placing her back on the ground, he bent down slightly and kissed her passionately, making up for the time lost to them after Endymion had returned to Earth.

"You're here? You're really, truly, honestly, seriously here? This isn't another one of my overactive fantasies about you being back?" The Princess of love asked eagerly as he released her lips, and it was all he could do not to grin at her excitement, instead a slow smile came across his face.

"I'm really, truly, honestly here, my dearest Minako," he replied in that deep voice she adored so much, refusing to release her body from within his arms - not that she wanted to leave.

They kissed again and Mina's arms reached up around his neck, her hands weaving into the familiar material of his collar, the grey fabric soft against her skin, his long hair brushing over her the back of her hand; he always looked so good in his uniform, especially when his hair was free of ceremonial bands.

Pulling away slightly, she gave him the smile she reserved only for him, full of so much love and passion. Without another word, she slipped from his grasp, took his large hand in her small delicate one, and led him to her rooms, altering her plan from before only slightly – there was no way that they would be attending tomorrow's festivities.

* * *

Had Mina been awake, she would have seen the dark outline of the General, who inhabited her dreams, standing on her balcony, watching as her face, illuminated by moonlight, became blissfully happy. And he knew she was dreaming of him. 

Smiling the soft smile he reserved only for her, Kunzite turned away and teleported back to Mamoru's apartment, affixing her face in his memory once again, though she had changed not at all since he had last seen her. He sat next to Jadeite on Mamoru's couch, and a moment of understanding passed between them – they would do anything to regain their loves.

* * *

Ami brushed her deep blue hair away from her face with one tense hand, her forehead contorting into a frown as she focused on the book in front of her. It was her distraction, this book, necessary so she would not lapse back into sleep; she was afraid of few things, but tonight there was only one fear which consumed her mind, dreaming. 

But even Ami's almost inexhaustible amount of concentration could not keep the darkness from overwhelming her, and her eyes slowly drifted closed, one hand resting on the open novel.

She felt herself slipping into her past, a memory emerging from a long suppressed section of her mind; it had been a beautiful blue-sky day, one of those days when everything just seemed right. Princess Mercury had felt an unavoidable desire to study outdoors, but once she found her favourite place, the large weeping willow at the side of the Sea of Serenity, she had found that she could not concentrate upon the large tome she had brought with her. Looking around curiously, she found no other inhabitants of the area, and decided that it would be a good idea to swim.

Stripping off, Ami dove quickly into the water, before turning and floating on her back, looking up at the sky. Her eyes were focussed on Earth, for it lay directly above her; she had always felt an unavoidable fascination with the large blue planet that the Moon orbited. Relaxing into the familiar comfort of the water, Ami allowed her eyes to close slowing, knowing that the water would not allow any harm to come to her – one of the perks of being the Water Princess.

"Princess!"

Ami sat up swiftly in the water, eyes looking frantically for the person who had destroyed her peace, expecting to find another footman of the Palace. Instead, she saw the form of Zoisite, the green outline of his grey uniform glinting in the sunlight, his long blonde hair tied back but fighting to escape, drawn by the breeze. She swam quickly to the shore, and found he made it to the tree before her; a large smile on her face, Ami ran to her General, and was quickly wrapped up in his warm arms.

He kissed her softly for a moment before pulling her closer still, shielding her from the world; she tucked her head under his chin and smiled contentedly. They stood this way for a few minutes, before Zoisite began speaking in a hushed voice:

"You know I love seeing you like this," he began wickedly, and Ami had to smile, "But other people are bound to come along and I'd really rather keep this side of you to myself." Ami blushed as she realised he was speaking of her barely clad figure, slipping from his grip, she reached for her dress and slid it back on.

"Oops," Ami said as she admired Zoisite, "I got you all wet!" laughing she used her power to pull all the water molecules from his clothing, hair and face, releasing them back into the Sea of Serenity. He grinned at her and pulled her back into his arms; Ami tucked her head back into his shoulder and they stood like that for quite some time, taking comfort in each others presence, and knowing that this was enough for now.

* * *

Ami smiled and turned over in her sleep, making a soft sighing noise as she settled into her new position; Zoisite watched from her sky-light, directly above her bed, placed there so she could fall asleep watching the stars. He fought with himself for a moment, but decided to enter the room through one of the side windows – Ami would never forgive herself if she destroyed that book in her sleep. It was the book she always used when she truly could not sleep, though how he knew that was beyond him, and it was precious to her. 

He quietly slipped in through the side window, and walked softly around to the correct side of the bed, picking up the book and placing it gently on her bedside table. He stared at her for another moment, she was so close, he could just reach out and touch her. At that moment Ami chose to roll back onto her other side, and her eyes opened slightly, the smile still present on her face.

"Zoisite?" She asked sleepily, reaching out one hand to touch his gently, then she sighed again and fell back asleep, a smile of pure contentment on her face. Zoisite could only stare at the woman he loved, the first physical contact he'd had with her in a millennia, he felt his heart shudder and little and had to remind himself that soon they would be able to be together.

Groaning in disappointment, Zoisite exited through the same side window, looking back at Ami one last time before turning and making his way back to Mamoru's apartment – it was too close to bother transporting. Knocking on the glass door which led from the balcony to the living room, he stood impatiently, waiting for his brothers to let him in, which they did after a moment. Zoisite moved to one of the recliner chairs and sat comfortably in it, ignoring Jadeite and Kunzite, he thought only of Ami.

* * *

Makoto fell asleep easily, her eyes shut from the minute she touched the mattress, falling quickly into unconsciousness. Unlike her sisters, Mako was not afraid of falling asleep tonight, she had long suspected that her death on the Moon had been caused by Nephrite, though she wasn't exactly certain why. She was certain, however, that his mind and soul had been poisoned by Beryl. Although it was slightly macabre, she enjoyed the nightmare, not the ending, her death, but the memory of how much she had loved him. 

As strange as that sounded, Mako had been denied that kind of love for so long, and to remember how that love felt was a true gift. Unlike Mina and Rei, Mako was certain that somehow Nephrite would be returned to her, though once again she wasn't sure how, or when.

Mako smiled as she found herself back in the Moon Kingdom, pleasantly surprised to find herself within a much happier memory; she sat in what she knew was her personal garden, filled with blooms of every colour, though the most predominant flower was, of course, roses. She was also certain that she had planted and grown each of these flowers, using her powers to make them flourish. The brunette sat on the ledge of the brick wall which separated her garden from Minako's, staring down at her garden blissfully, her feet knocking up against the wall. It was a wide wall, so Mako was easily able to turn and lie on her back, staring up at the sun and Earth. She closed her eyes and fell into her thoughts, full of Nephrite and his face, so, understandably, when she heard his voice calling her from the garden, she assumed that she was only remembering their encounter from the previous month.

It was only when the calling came more insistent that she realised that maybe she wasn't imagining his presence. She sat up swiftly, forgetting where she was seated, and promptly found herself falling towards her favourite rose bush. Luckily she was able to use her Senshi powers so that she landed firmly on the cobblestones, instead of being pricked by the thorns of the roses.

"Nephrite!" she said scoldingly, her hands placed firmly on her hips as she stared at him, glaring slightly, "You almost caused me to ruin my garden!"

"Well, if you had listened to me! I was calling your name for almost three whole minutes, even I'm not that hard to ignore!" He fired back, taking two steps closer to the Senshi of Jupiter.

"Well excuse me for trying to have some quiet time on my day off! Here I am, in my own private garden where no one is supposed to disturb me unless I invite them, and you show up out of the blue. So, sorry if I didn't notice you weren't a figment of my imagination, shown up to try and remind me how much I miss you," Mako said exasperatedly, "After all, Rei was visited last week by Jadeite, Zoisite came to see Ami two days later and Kunzite showed up the day after that to see Mina! You can see why I was feeling a little neglected."

Nephrite chuckled slightly, "Well, someone had to protect the Prince, and I had other duties to attend to, you're lucky I was even able to come today."

The brunette shot him a furious glare, "What, so I'm not a priority?"

He smirked in response, walking closer to her, "You're my top priority, what do I have to do to show you how much I missed you? Oh, wait. I know." He leaned in a kissed her, pulling her tightly to him, refusing to let her go even after their lips pulled away.

"Better?" He asked gently, "I missed you."

She smiled wickedly up at him, "Almost, but you've still got some serious sucking up to do."

"I think I can handle that," he said, leaning in for another kiss.

"You know what, I think I can too."

* * *

Mako sat bolt upright in her bed, blushing furiously as she remembered the activities which had come after their reunion. The room was black, though her bedside clock told her it was 3:57am in bright red numbers; her eyes slowly adjusted to the dark and she pulled her quilt closer to her body. 

"Nephrite…" she murmured, talking to nobody, "I miss you."

He stood outside, watching as she sat up and spoke, his heart breaking all the while, "I miss you too," he whispered to himself, and decided he could not prolong the agony of watching her, instead choosing to go back to Mamoru's early.

Mako frowned, she could have sworn she heard his voice saying that he missed her; then she shook her head, it was impossible, Nephrite was dead.

She sighed, and lay back down, falling back into her memories, reliving them one by one.

* * *

When Nephrite returned to the apartment he found the other Generals still awake, their eyes wide and staring into the dark, clearly thinking of their loves. 

He stood, unmoving in the living room for a moment, before gathering up the words he intended to speak, "I think they remember us. Let's just hope they tell Usagi soon, or I may just go mad." The three other men nodded in agreement, only turning their heads briefly to meet Nephrites eyes before resuming their previous activity.

Nephrite sat down on the other recliner chair, and joined them in their memories.

* * *

_**Hey guys!**_

_**Surprised as much as I am that this is my second update in less than a week? Actually its probably very hard to be as surprised as I am that I've updated not one but 2 stories in 3 days. I have to admit, I love this one more though. This one is becoming my special story. **_

_**So, with this chapter I decided it was time for the girls to have at least some of their memories with their generals return because, lets face it, I'm a big softy. But don't worry, there will be more angst etc later. Especially since I plan on this fic living up to its rating - don't think the first chapter was the only reason why I gave this such a high rating - there are still other, more serious, memories and stuff to come.**_

_**I hope you enjoyed! I know I loved writing this. And there will probably be an update in a few weeks (during the holidays - I'm banked up with school work until then and this is the last time I'm allowed to procrastinate like this!**_

_**Love you all  
xx Usa!**_


	5. Chapter 5

**A Quick Author's note - **in this story, the Senshi/Mamoru did not forget after the battle with Queen Beryl, so they remember everything about who was the Princess/how to fight - thus, no Moonlight Knight. The Shitennou/Generals remember nothing before the final day of the Moon Kingdom, so they will be slowly remembering things as well.  
Also, I want to thank Bunniko for all her amazing help with this chapter, she's been so important to this whole process, so thank you Buns!**  
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Chapter 5

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* * *

**

Mamoru woke up the next morning to find all four of his Generals awake and half-alert, staring off into space. He frowned at them from the doorway before shuffling towards the kitchen, his eyes half open and bleary.

"Coffee… must find… coffee," he muttered under his breath, searching through cupboards for the holy grail of all liquids. It was only after he had received his daily dose of the drug that Mamoru realised the four men had not moved. He entered the living room and tilted his head slightly, staring at them and waiting for one of them to move – none of them did.

He sighed, and summoned Endymion from his resting place deep in Mamoru's mind, who promptly called his men to order, "Shitennou!" Their heads all snapped to look at him, as their bodies automatically stood to attention.

"Yes, sir!" they said in unison, arms at their sides as they stood to attention.

Mamoru gave the four of them an exasperated look, "It seriously took me calling Endymion out so that I could even gain half your attention? What was so important in each of your minds that you couldn't even say 'good morning'?"

Kunzite, Zoisite, Jadeite and Nephrite simply stared at him, and Mamoru found himself forced to bring Endymion out again – "Those were not rhetorical questions!"

It was that final comment which brought Kunzite back to himself, "My Lord," he began, "We find ourselves… preoccupied by certain women, and are unable to get them from our minds."

Mamoru nodded evenly, "I understand Kunzite, but hopefully they will have started remembering their past lives…" he paused, seeing Kunzite frowning slightly, "You didn't…" he paused again, seeing Kunzite frowning more severely, "Kunzite! You did? You all did?"

Kunzite nodded slowly, "We were unable to refrain from visiting them. I am very sorry, my Lord," he noticed Mamoru grimacing, and quickly defended their actions, "They were asleep, each of them, and we only looked from outside. But we have reason to believe that they are beginning to remember us – Makoto spoke of Nephrite, and said she missed him. I suspect that the other three girls do as well. They have at least one happy memory to remember us by."

Mamoru sighed, "It isn't enough, don't you understand? One happy memory cannot counteract their deaths at your hands. Need I remind you? Once there are more, I promise then you can see them, but until they stop thinking of you as their enemies, and instead as their loves, I cannot allow it."

"Maybe…" Zoisite began slowly, "Maybe we want too much, too soon. Their remembrance is progressing quickly, I would give it less than a week before they remember everything. As much as it pains me, I suggest we wait before seeing them again, in any capacity. They need to remember that we are not the horrible monsters that they know so far."

"Wise words, Zoisite." Kunzite sighed, "We will abide by our Prince's terms. The girls will remember us soon enough, and then we have forever. One week is surely not such a hard ask."

Nephrite and Jadeite looked at their Prince, then their commander and sighed also, nodding their heads in agreement, "But not a minute longer," Jadeite demanded, and the other four had to laugh, he had always been the most impatient.

"At the rate they're going, it might be even less," Zoisite replied, sitting down at the computer and turning it on, "But while we wait, let's see what we can do about getting moved into that apartment and finding ourselves jobs."

* * *

Zoisite and Kunzite went with Mamoru to the apartment they had bought while still under Beryl's thumb; in fact, it was not far from the Crown Arcade, so it did not take them long to reach it. The apartment was found on the twenty-fourth floor of a twenty-five storey building, and was surprisingly well furnished for something which had been owned by a pair of Dark Kingdom Generals. 

Zoisite flushed as he surveyed the living room, it was full of girly touches, he groaned as he noticed potpourri on a side table.

"I really went overboard as a girl, didn't I?" He asked Kunzite, who chuckled.

"I figured you were getting in touch with your feminine side, so I didn't bother trying to change anything. You were a girl after all, so I assumed it was natural."

"Natural? Is that what you call it? I seem to remember you being very," Zoisite paused, searching for the right word, "appreciative of my feminine attributes."

Mamoru simply smirked as Kunzite blushed and pretended to ignore Zoisite's words, busying himself with the intricacies of a vase on a side table. Mamoru decided to explore the apartment, quickly discovering that there were only three bedrooms, not including a study. There was going to be a serious argument over who got the one with the en-suite, for there was only one other bathroom. The kitchen was well equipped, and even had some two-minute ramen stacked in one otherwise bare cupboard, though he gave Kunzite a strange look over their presence.

Kunzite simply shrugged, a man has to eat after all, even when he is a Dark General.

All in all the apartment was basically ready for habitation by four men, only requiring another bed, couch, food, a computer and other assorted basics. Mamoru sat on the single black leather couch in the living room and stared up at the flat-screen television in awe:

"How is it that you were gone for almost a year, and you still have a better television than I do?"

"Good taste, Mamoru, combined with inexhaustible funds, plus a love of electronics," Zoisite replied, thinking for a moment before continuing, "Damn, it's good to be a man again. No one looks at me strangely for saying things like that."

"I can think of another benefit to having your old body back," Kunzite teased lightly, "Think of how Ami would have treated you if you were still a woman." He and Mamoru chuckled as Zoisite flushed red again.

"Low blow, Kunzite. Low blow."

The guys all paused to laugh, before Zoisite had an epiphany:

"But if I was still a girl, I don't think it would be Ami I'd be chasing, eh Kunz?"

* * *

Usagi had arranged to meet the girls at the Juuban Park for some shopping and relaxing around midday (Makoto had offered to make lunch, an unrefusable offer) but, as usual, she had slept in and was running late. Of course, it hadn't been her fault that she'd slept in. Not only had she not been able to sleep because her mind was full of her Senshi and their Shitennou and the problems inherent in their situation. But also because, when she had finally made it to sleep, all she could dream about was Prince Endymion and her past life – and that was very, very distracting. 

The former Princess of the Moon had been rather shocked to discover exactly how_close_ she had been with her fiancée; clearly the Silver Millennium hadn't been filled with these ridiculous notions of purity before marriage – that fact had been made very clear. Shivering happily as she remembered the wonderful things Endymion's hands had been capable of, Usagi continued running to the meeting place before the lake.

Her days training as the Sailor Senshi of the Moon, combined with her daily sprint to school, had made her very fast and as a result it did not take Usagi very long to reach the Park. However, when she arrived at their designated meeting place, the blonde found no sign of her friends. Frowning, Usagi surveyed her surroundings but did not even find a hint of blonde, brunette, black or blue hair. She was positive that they were meeting at midday, that much has been specified several times by Rei, yet none of them were around, not even Ami, who would have died rather than be late. Sighing, Usagi sat on the nearest bench overlooking the lake, as close as she could get to their meeting place while still having a good enough view of the Park so she would be able to see her friends coming from a distance.

It was almost a quarter of an hour before the first straggler arrived – Ami – looking tired and dishevelled, her blue hair tousled and her eyes were half closed. Usagi jumped off her bench and ran quickly towards her friend, her face contorted into a worried grimace.

"Ami-chan? Are you okay? You look tired, didn't you get any sleep last night? You were up studying again, weren't you! I've told you to relax once in a while, otherwise you'll make yourself sick!" Usagi's hurried words were filled with anxiety as she drew Ami over to the bench, her eyes filled with concern.

Ami smiled, albeit tiredly, "I'm fine, Usa-chan. Just a little tired. And no, I did not stay up too late studying, in fact, I went to bed early. But something woke me up about 2am, and I couldn't get back to sleep." She had deliberately omitted something, and Usagi noticed, unsure as to whether she should press her friend for information or not.

"Ami-chan?"

The blue haired girl looked at her friend, and realised that, if she could talk to anyone about her suspicions, it would be Usagi.

"I – I think I was visited last night, by Zoisite."

Usagi's eyes narrowed, but that was her only response, which confused Ami to no end – by all means, Zoisite and his fellow Dark Generals were dead, not to mention he should have been a she – Usagi did not seem surprised at the fact that Zoisite was possibly alive.

"Zoisite?" Usagi's voice definitely wasn't filled with confusion or fear, just curiosity, "How do you mean? Like you dreamt about her? Because she couldn't possibly have really shown up!" The blonde had only _just_ managed to keep herself from saying 'him' and 'he', it was a very close call.

Ami shook her head, "No, not her, him!"

Usagi tried to look shocked, and it must have succeeded, because Ami continued talking.

"I know! And the weird thing is, he looked like I expected him to! He was really there, at least I think he was – he touched me!" Ami's voice was high and girly with excitement, the complete opposite of how Usagi expected her to act, "It was like… like I knew him as a man, and that the female form was just.. I'm not sure how to explain it, just a façade."

Usagi looked cautiously at her friend, "That _is_ weird. And you're positive this wasn't a dream?"

"No! He was definitely there! He came into my room! I saw him! He moved my book!"

"Ami-chan, calm down! It's okay, I believe you," Usagi smiled at the blue-haired girl, taking one of her hands in her own, "You said that you just knew it was him, even though he looked different…"

"I think… I think I remember him, from the Silver Millennium. I think that maybe, and don't laugh at me Usagi, maybe we were…" Ami blushed, looking awkwardly at her lap, "I don't know, together. And I think that maybe I loved him."

* * *

Makoto had arrived a little over a quarter of an hour after Ami, long enough for them to talk properly without an interruption, but Usagi had been forced to call Rei and Minako on their communicators. Rei was shocked to find Usagi awake and waiting when the miko wasn't even out of bed. Usagi had grinned at Rei's angry blush before the darker haired girl had terminated the communication, turning to the two girls actually in attendance. 

"So, Makoto, since the girls aren't going to be here for at least half an hour…" Usagi wheedled desperately from her tall friend, receiving a box of rice balls in response. She squeaked happily before attacking the contents of the small blue plastic box, finishing it quickly with a satisfied sigh. "Arigato, Mako-chan, it was very tasty!"

Ami and Makoto laughed, "Did you even taste it on its quick journey to your stomach?" the brunette asked. Usagi pouted, looking affronted as her friends laughed harder.

Rei and Minako eventually showed up and the five enjoyed Makoto's well cooked meal, sprawled out on a large red and white chequered blanket that had come with Makoto's picnic basket. They relaxed for a while, enjoying the warm day, before Minako and Usagi simultaneously, hyperactively, and loudly suggested an afternoon of shopping. Rei, Ami and Makoto decided to appease their friends, knowing that retail therapy was much safer than hours of complaining and moaning.

* * *

Zoisite, Jadeite and Nephrite all groaned at their leader's news that it was time to 'go shopping' even if it was for necessary items, and they would finally get their own beds. Jadeite realised what it meant first, perking up (with the help of more coffee) after associating shopping with no longer having his blankets stolen in the mornings. 

"Ahh, sleep, precious sleep," the blonde sighed happily, waxing poetic in the hope that he would finally have a room to himself again, "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day, spent lazing in the sun?"

Of course, this comment resulted in numerous pillows being thrown at the sometimes poet from numerous directions. The blonde simply scoffed and managed to look offended, pouting in a very Usagi-like manner, which only resulted in another pillow being thrown from Mamoru's direction, who at least had the guts to look innocent when the Heavenly King of the Far East glared in his direction.

"Alright, I think its time to head off. First stop, the department store."

* * *

The girls chattered as they walked around the mall, mostly window-shopping unless something caught their eye, revelling in the freedom of holidays. Usagi noticed, however, that each of her friends seemed to be hiding something, like there was a topic of conversation what they didn't even want to mention. 

Usagi grinned to herself when she realised – boys. More specifically, a group of four boys (well, men really) who happened to be, if she wasn't mistaken, invading all of their dreams. She giggled a little, knowing her own memories were coming back much faster than her Senshi-sisters – _"Oh, I just can't wait to see the looks on their faces when they realise that the Shitennou truly are back! That, and when they remember half the things they did with the Generals!"_

They continued walking aimlessly until Usagi spotted a brief flash of white blonde hair amongst a sea of dark hair, frowning she looked harder in the direction she had seen the hair and found another blonde, his hair shorter and more yellow, standing with the man with white-blonde hair. She also noticed long wavy brown hair, tied back, standing next to an even shorter blonde male with restrained curly hair and a tall-ish black-haired man. Usagi gasped. She looked desperately for an escape as her friends unconsciously brought their group closer to the Shitennou.

"Girls, in here! I really want to have a look at that pair of earrings I've been thinking of for Mama's birthday, do you mind?" Usagi squeaked in desperation, pointing to a jewellery store nearby.

"Oh, sure Usagi-chan, why didn't you say so?" Makoto agreed to Usagi's relief, angling the girls towards the store and away from the Generals.

Usagi blushed, "Gomen, I wasn't thinking." But internally she was sighing in relief, crisis number two, averted. She decided she would keep them in the store for as long as possible, making sure that that Shitennou went their way, and then she would suggest they go to the Crown Arcade for a milkshake.

"So, minna, what do you think of this pair?"

* * *

Mamoru looked over his shoulder, in the middle of the Shitennou's discussion over the next store they should visit, and noticed a twin pair of blonde odangoes bobbing through the crowd. And where Usagi was…. The girls were. Mamoru gulped and hustled the complaining Shitennou into the department store, ordering them to pick a bed and matching furniture quickly, so they could go and get food. 

Needless to say, the men quickly agreed, hastily making their way to the bedroom and accessories section, where each General was dispatched to a different task – Jadeite was in charge of choosing a sets of sheets and matching coverlets, along with spare blankets and pillows for the four bedrooms; Nephrite and Zoisite were to buy a computer, desk and another black leather couch for the living room; while Mamoru and Kunzite decided to choose the mattress, bed and matching furniture for the small study-turned-bedroom.

Remarkably, they were finished within an hour, and had arranged for their purchases to be sent to the Shitennou's apartment that afternoon, where the Generals would be waiting. Task one completed, the men walked to the supermarket and stocked up on enough food to feed an army for at least a week.

Just as they were standing in line at the checkout, waiting to buy the many food products, Zoisite ran off, disappearing into an aisle usually reserved for feminine products and toiletries. The other four groaned and looked embarrassed for their friend, who they knew must have had an intimate understanding of the many products found in that, the aisle forbidden to all men. Zoisite emerged with several bottles of shampoo and conditioner, hair elastics and bobby pins, hair brushes, toothbrushes and toothpaste. The other men looked embarrassed again when they realised that they had completed overlooked these basic necessities, especially when three of them had longer-than-shoulder-length hair which required constant care. Admittedly, they were all a little vain about their hair, though ironically it was Jadeite, who had the shortest hair, who was most protective of his wavy, golden locks. Of course, the other men were pretty sure that was a result of all the time he had spent with Rei in his past life, though they would never tell him that.

The five hauled their spoils home, realising that even the large kitchen would struggle to accommodate their purchases. Nephrite relaxed against the black marble bench-top, beside the stove and dishwasher, watching his fellow protectors struggle to find places in the formerly empty refrigerator and white cupboards, which were firmly attached to the white tiled and painted walls, with a green detail running around the room to provide interest. Mamoru then chose to help Jadeite clean out the study, lugging the filled bookcases and desk into the living room in order to make room for Jadeite's new bed-set. The youngest General had chosen the shortest straw, while Kunzite had gained the room with the en-suite, claiming his privileges as leader of the Shitennou.

The five squished themselves onto the single black leather couch that sat in front of the high-tech television before Mamoru decided it was too crowded and that it was probably time to cook dinner. Leaving his Shitennou in the living room, Mamoru pulled some ingredients out of the fridge and cupboards and started making a spaghetti dish, one of the staples of his former bachelorhood. Just as his hand touched the tomato sauce, Mamoru felt a shiver go through his spine, but it was something more sinister than the usual 'someone-walked-over-your-grave' feeling. The Prince frowned and thought of his Princess, wondering if she felt this too or whether it was just his strong connection to Earth that gave him this worry and fear.

Kunzite had noticed his Prince's absence and followed him into the kitchen, watching in concern as Mamoru actually shifted into his Prince of Earth garb for a moment. The commander knew subconsciously that only something serious would cause Mamoru to feel so desperately for his connection to the Earth that it would cause his form to change.

A moment later, as Prince Endymion stood staring blankly into space, Kunzite's form also changed, his borrowed clothes replaced by the uniform of the Golden Kingdom – dark brown pants and a white shirt with golden details on the cuffs and chest, hidden partially by the three leather belts which held his sword to his side, the outfit completed by a dark brown cape with blue lining held on by golden epaulets. He felt his form imbued with the strength of the former commander of the Prince's guard, with the same connection to the Earth that Endymion felt, so when the energy came down their link, they both shivered at the sinister emotion which seemed to slowly be poisoning the energy of Earth.

"Prince Endymion, my Lord? Are you alright? Is there a problem with the Golden Crystal?" Kunzite's voice was hesitant, unwilling to disturb the silent reverie of his liege, who turned to stare at the taller man, his usually deep blue eyes blank. This only terrified Kunzite more, who had gone a millennia without this strange connection to the planet or to the future King of Earth – he couldn't remember anything from his past life beyond the final day on the Moon Kingdom, when their brainwashed selves had helped to destroy the golden age of the Silver Millennium, and killed their respective wives and fiancées under the command of Metallia and Queen Beryl. He frantically searched his memory for something,_anything_, which would explain this horrifying feeling that seemed to pulse in time with his heartbeat, and found nothing, no explanation, no precedent, just nothing.

The General frowned, eyes narrowed on an innocent black bench-top, he couldn't remember Minako's smell, the scent that was uniquely her, he only knew that she had one that he loved. He couldn't remember where, or how, he proposed, only that he had. He couldn't remember their first meeting, or their last before the fight. He couldn't remember anything about her, except that he loved her, and that terrified him. He had this terrible aching desire to be with her, to see her again, to touch that lovely, silky blonde hair, to pull out the red ribbon she always wore and watch it spill between his fingers. But he didn't know why. He didn't know all the small details that made him love her, only that he did.

Kunzite felt that horrible sinking feeling, magnified a thousand times, when he looked into the worried eyes of his Prince. "Endymion? Endy?" Frightened, he had used the Prince's childhood nickname, though he hardly knew its significance. Endymion blinked as though Kunzite had shook him physically, and smiled sadly at his friend.

"I am here, Kunzite. Do not worry. The feeling is gone now, perhaps I had imagined it. We shall know, soon enough, if I have not," the Prince's voice was calm, collected and perfectly enunciated, spoken in the ancient Terran language. Kunzite nodded, to show he understood, and indicated they should return to their civilian forms in order to prevent confusion. Kunzite looked pointedly at Mamoru, his silver eyes betraying a sense of anxiety and worry which even his Prince could not dispel – he knew there was much more to this than a bad feeling, but what could he do?

Truly, they had only one choice – wait and see. And if there was one thing Kunzite hated, it was waiting for a battle, especially once it had all been planned, strategies organised and tactics arranged. With an unknown enemy, it was impossible to prepare, except to train their physical and magical skills in the time between the warning and the attack.

Mamoru and Kunzite walked into the living room, which was located adjacent to the kitchen, and Kunzite called his men to order. They quickly lined up before their commander and listened to his instructions – they were to begin training immediately, working on their abilities in preparation for a possible new enemy. They were to be up before sunrise the next morning and dressed in their training garb, swords polished and sharpened. Zoisite, Nephrite and Jadeite saluted their leaders and were allowed to relax once more, waiting for the arrival of another couch, bed, linens, a computer and, most importantly – alarm clocks. If they were going to have to be up so early in the morning, they were all, especially Jadeite, going to need alarm clocks – it was a good thing Mamoru thought ahead.

* * *

Usagi sprinted down the street with her Senshi trailing behind her, headed for Juuban Park. They had been shocked to hear the frightened cries of innocent people as they fled from the Park, yelling about a strange monster attacking people. The five girls were given strange looks as they ran towards, not away from, the scene of the attack but they ignored them, only running faster. 

They arrived to find a strange creature, lion-like in appearance, which seemed to be collecting energy from the humans still remaining in the park. Its fur was pink but it had a white mane and sinister looking teeth; the Senshi caught a brief glimpse of two purple clad aliens with green skin, telling the monster, which they called a cardian, to drain the human's energy before disappearing.

The girls quickly transformed, calling out their familiar, but recently unused, motto's, promising to defend the weak and innocent, to uphold love and justice. After almost a year of not fighting, it was strange to be expected to attack again – the girls could almost be forgiven for thinking there would never be another battle again, before today. It had been a miracle in itself that the Senshi and Tuxedo Kamen had retained all their memories after the battle with Beryl and Metallia, especially considering their deaths and the large amount of energy the Ginzuishou had released. But to have retained their skills was a precious gift which they exploited ruthlessly.

The cardian, which called itself Falion, was a great deal stronger than Beryl's youma, and the girls were on their second set of attacks by the time Tuxedo Kamen arrived.

Mamoru had been late to the battle because he had felt Sailor Moon transform just as the door was being shut to the delivery men. Unsure as to how to prevent the Shitennou following him to the battle, Mamoru had been forced to let them come with him – under the condition that they would not move from their hiding place at the exit of the park, about a hundred metres from where the cardian was and hidden behind tall bushes.

Tuxedo Kamen reiterated this fact before running off to help his love and her protectors, "You are not to move under. Any. Circumstances. I do not care if I am about to be injured, if the Senshi are about to be injured, even if Usako is about to be injured.You are not to move. There will be serious consequences if you do. Understood?" The four nodded eagerly, trying hard not to snicker at their Prince's frankly embarrassing costume and the weak looking rose in his hand.

They soon wished they had not promised however, especially after Rei and Makoto were thrown aside for the first time by a strong burst of energy. Tuxedo Kamen had arrived quickly enough to prevent Sailor Moon being fried by a similar energy burst, pulling her out of the way just in time. But Jadeite and Nephrite had to watch in horror as their loves slowly pushed themselves off the ground, bleeding from numerous cuts and scratches all up their arms and legs, bruises already forming on their delicate faces. Yet still they fought, doing their men proud, though all the Shitennou wanted to do was protect their loves like Mamoru was protecting his. They would even use stupid steel-tipped roses if it meant they could help the Senshi. That damned promise. Didn't Mamoru know how hard it was to watch the love of your lives be assaulted constantly by an enemy they could not get a hold over?

They watched their respective Senshi get bruised, battered, and wounded in the most horrifying ways possible, and yet they could not move. But somehow, seemingly against the odds, the cardian was gradually defeated, the Senshi prevailing against their foe when Mars, Jupiter and Venus' combined attacks weakened it for a finishing blow by Moon's tiara.

It was an understatement, to say that the Shitennou were proud of their Senshi.

It had been a millennia since they had seen the Senshi fight and prior to the battle the Shitennou had not remembered anything from that time. But, watching the women fight their foe, they found fragments of memory returning. The Silver Millennium had been a time of peace, however, and the Senshi had only trained constantly, only been tested properly by the evil Shitennou themselves on the final day. Their memories, then, served only to make the Shitennou prouder of the Senshi, knowing that they had not been prepared to fight such enemies prior to Beryl's reincarnation. They had learned everything they knew on the fly, forced to try out different techniques by desperation in the heat of battle, no prior knowledge to help them.

The Shitennou had known these women were strong, but not this strong. They were independent, and frankly a little scary. Their powers could destroy a youma like it was nothing, and the Shitennou knew that this cardian was clearly more powerful than any youma they'd had at their disposal under Beryl.

The Senshi did not need the help of the Shitennou.

But that did not stop the men from wanting to help them, even though they knew it was unnecessary. They watched every single minute with wide open eyes, cringing each time a Senshi was stuck down and quietly cheering each time a blow was landed. They watched the whole half hour in awe, and when Mamoru came to retrieve his Shitennou he found them reminiscing over the battle.

"Did you see it when Mercury used her Shabon Spray?" Zoisite said proudly, "And then used her Mercury Computer to find the damned thing's weakness! They couldn't have done it without her."

"…But Mars' Fire Soul! She was amazing!" Jadeite chattered over Zoisite, gesturing wildly with his hands in an attempt to show how impressive her contribution had been, "She did much more than Mercury!"

Nephrite's praise was quieter, more reminiscent, "And Jupiter's Supreme Thunder attack, I've never seen her so powerful. She's gotten so strong…"

Kunzite nodded at Nephrite's words, "It's the same with Venus, her Crescent Beam was much weaker, I'm certain, back in the Silver Millennium. Even when I saw her close to the end of Beryl's rule, she was never this powerful."

They all took a moment to pause or, in Zoisite's and Jadeite's case, to breathe amid renewed squabbling over whose love had the greatest contribution to the victory, an argument Kunzite and Nephrite ignored – they were used to this. Plus, they knew it was their love's that had been most important.

Jadeite realised he had only seen Mars fight a few battles, and even then he had been concentrating on not getting hurt rather than admiring her courageous fighting style. His firebird was indeed worthy of the support of her warrior patron God.

Zoisite's train of thought was similar, though he realised that he had seen Mercury fight many times, he had often underestimated the importance of her Shabon Spray and Mercury computer to the overall battle. He regretted that now, especially since he could now see that without her protective powers and intelligence it would be difficult for the Senshi to defeat their enemies.

Nephrite had never seen Jupiter fight, at least not as a servant under Beryl's control. He had been killed long before Jupiter's arrival, after he had been distracted by the kindness of a human girl, Naru, experiencing death at the hands of three youma sent by Zoisite. But the Amazonian Princess was beyond worthy of her strength, and she was clearly the most powerful, behind Sailor Moon of course. He was suitably impressed, to say the least.

Kunzite had seen Venus fight many times, especially after Beryl had turned Mamoru evil (he was ashamed to say that he had not gotten on well with the Prince at that time, their strong personalities seemed to push them apart), but she was still much more powerful than before. He was awed by her strong leadership skills, which seemed to have improved in the year between Beryl and this new enemy – the other Senshi listened to her every command, and he was proud to say that even he could have done no better under the circumstances.

Mamoru laughed and they all snapped simultaneously out of their reveries, staring up at their battered Prince who was, nevertheless, already healing.

"I must say I'm proud of you," he stated, looking down at the four men still crouched behind the bushes, who looked back up at him in anticipation of further explanation.

"Because?" Jadeite hazarded, looking confused.

"You didn't move an inch, even when Mars and Jupiter took those hits! I thought for sure you would disobey my order."

"We were worried, my lord, but we did realise, albeit eventually, that you would not allow any harm to come to the Senshi," Zoisite spoke softly, but his blue eyes were sincere when Mamoru looked into them.

"You were correct. Now, I think its time to retire to your apartment, so that we can set you up with internet and Jadeite can rearrange his room, as I'm certain he has been itching to do since we moved his bed in 'the wrong way'."

They all laughed at Mamoru's direct quote of Jadeite's complaint, and wandered back to the Shitennou's apartment, arguing over the fighting skills of the Senshi the entire way, so proud were they of the love's they had held for over a millennia.

* * *

Hey everyone!

Surprised to see me? I'm surprised to see myself here, and writing for Possession. Did you know I already had 4 pages of this written, but that it didn't feel complete? But now here it is, in all its completed glory laughs. I hope you all enjoyed it, I want to see how quickly I can finish the first arc of this story - there will be 2 arcs, the first is very clearly getting the Senshi/Shitennou back together (warning, the next chapter will, most likely, have some yummy lemon in it), the second arc will be their relationships and how it affects their lives. So I hope you stick with me until then. : )

I hope to talk to you all soon, and the picture of Kunzite's Golden Kingdom uniform can be found at http :// mangastyle (dot) net (forward slash) materials (forward slash) mat-21 (dot) jpg (yup, its canon.. ish!)

xx Usa


	6. Chapter 6

* * *

**Chapter Six**

* * *

The girls were exhausted - that damned cardian was much stronger than the youma they were used to - and it had taken almost all of their combined strength to weaken it so that Moon's tiara could vanquish it. And even that had been close. The Senshi had spent a breathless few moments watching and waiting as the golden tiara seemed to do little, held motionless in the air before the creature until it finally seemed to overcome the strength of the ridiculous half-lion, half-human, pink monster. 

Moon had slumped against Tuxedo Kamen, her energy spent in her attempt to literally force the tiara into the cardian. The blonde's face was drawn, filled with worry – her tiara had worked brilliantly against youma, why wasn't it strong enough to destroy a cardian? Were they up against a stronger enemy, one with better defended monsters at their bidding? Or were her powers diminishing? Either way, their situation was not good.

The Senshi crowded around their leader, worried for the health of their Princess, whose weak protestations were not enough to convince them that she was okay. But Usagi was released into their care after Mamoru quickly disappeared, citing an important place he had to be. The Senshi had looked at him suspiciously, but Usagi had motioned for him to go, saying that she would be fine with her guardians, and that "they" needed him. The Senshi had shared a strange look at their Princess's cryptic comment, but shrugged it off, choosing to take Usagi home instead of demanding an answer to an unasked question – who were "they", and why were they more important than a drained Usagi?

It was difficult for the four girls to sneak their best friend and leader back into her second story window – without her parents noticing – but somehow they managed it, though they were certain they could never repeat the feat. An un-transformed Usagi had collapsed onto her bed, snuggled under the covers and immediately fallen asleep, and her colleagues were not even half surprised. They each kissed their Princess on the forehead in a rare demonstration of their love for her before silently jumping from the balcony to the large tree, and from the tree to the ground. They bid each other farewell and returned to their own comfortable beds, falling asleep as soon as their heads hit their pillows, their transformations fading quickly back to their everyday personas.

Minako's eyes closed first but there was no respite in sleep and, instead of finding lovely black nothingness, the blonde opened her dreaming eyes to a half-familiar scene.

* * *

It was a warm day on the Moon which found two blondes, one a petite female with golden hair, the other a tall male whose hair was tinted silver and had heavily muscled arms and chest, lying on a blanket atop the lush grass beneath a large weeping willow in a secluded corner of the Royal Gardens. They looked peaceful, comfortable, perfectly at ease with each other and the silence which surrounded them as they rested. 

Her long hair lay beneath her golden gown-clad body, the tendrils escaping to play with her hands and face were lit, sparkling in the strong sunlight, her traditional red ribbon abandoned on the blue chequered blanket beside the handsome man, both lying on their backs staring up at the many branches of the tree.

"Kunzite…" the Princess of Venus whispered, one delicate hand tangling itself with his training-roughened fingers, revelling in the feeling of her skin against his warm hand.

He smiled at her, head tilting to admire her beauty, "Yes, my love?"

The object of his affection giggled and gave him a bemused smirk, "Well, would you look at that, I, Princess Minako of Venus, have managed to melt the heart of the infamously stoic leader of the Shitennou. That's quite an achievement, wouldn't you say?"

"You know, Princess, I would say it is," his rough voice was teasing, his lips curling into a smirk similar to her own, "You were saying?"

She grinned at his response, further intertwining their fingers, "Nothing, just nothing. What more would I need than this moment?"

"I know I certainly don't need any more, except maybe…" his body shifted closer to hers, warm lips meeting hers in a sweet kiss. They broke away after a long moment, her blue eyes meeting his grey ones in a look that was as tender as the kiss they had shared.

"You're right, of course, how could I neglect to think of something so important?" Minako laughed gently as she moved in for another kiss, speaking softly just before their lips met, "I love you."

"I love you too."

The sunlight glinted off the pink jewel in the centre of a golden band on the petite blonde's left hand, two diamonds on either side of the stone also twinkling in the sun. He had slipped it onto her hand without her even noticing.

"Marry me."

* * *

Kunzite's eyes shot open to the dark room, his entire body filled with a strange emotion, one he had felt but never to this extent – love. He frowned, waiting for the light in his bedroom to adjust. Finally he focused on the light pouring in from the window. 

'So, we were married,' he thought calmly, 'or close to being so.'

On a whim, the leader of the Shitennou checked his subspace pocket. It was mostly empty, but he reached down into its very depths, past a few old pieces of paper.

And there it was. Their engagement ring, accompanied by two simple golden bands, one was big, large enough to fit onto his ring finger, and the other was tiny, the same size as the engagement ring.

The stone in the centre? Pink kunzite, of course.

* * *

Ami rolled over onto her side with a slight groan, one of her arms was caught beneath her body and was pressing into a large bruise – a remanent of that days battle. Her eyes were closed tightly against the intrusion of the city lights, but she could not stop the sound of the busy roads. The blue haired girl had fallen asleep immediately upon returning home, happily welcoming the darkness as it enfolded her into its depths, but a loud screech had awoken her and she was finding it difficult to return to the comfort of sleep. 

She rolled away from her injured side, sighing slightly, gradually letting sleep welcome her again. But her precious sleep was soon replaced by restless memory, and Ami opened her dreaming-blue eyes to a long-forgotten moment in time.

* * *

The petite girl stood in a cold, sterile laboratory, her hands working easily with the tools to analyse the sample before her; the Mercury Computer was beside the sample, and being used for data entry and analysis, only occasionally touched by the blue haired Senshi. While she was not forced to wear her uniform the Sailor Senshi of Mercury chose to wear her fuku, much like her fellow Senshi, because of the increasing danger. Their transformation took too much time and would lose her precious seconds if a battle were initiated – it was much simpler to stay as Sailor Mercury, and it didn't drain so much of her energy unless she used one of her attacks. 

To be honest, Princess Ami of Mercury also preferred her Senshi persona because it was simply that – a constructed image which would allow her confidence in dealing with complicated matters and dignitaries, an excuse for her abrupt behaviour. She could get away with many things in this uniform that the blue-haired girl would never dare attempt in one of her many gowns, the Princess of Mercury was meant to be intelligent but demure, observant but quiet – not confident and headstrong – at least not until she was Queen.

Ami hated the double-standard, but she also understood that it was necessary to maintain the peace and tradition of the Silver Millennium. So, she continued to work on her samples, using her free time to try and discover a more accurate and effective form of interplanetary travel. Her current experiment had some potential, but she was afraid that her modifications to the current teleportation system would cause the spontaneous loss of some body parts if not configured properly. Of course, this was hardly something she could test as it would only apply to animals, and to use the creatures would be inhumane.

Her blue eyes surveyed the laboratory in boredom, her eyes catching on the crystalline benches and shelves, the marble walls (common to the entire Moon Palace), the high-tech equipment imported from Mercury for her personal use, before alighting on the door. It was hidden to the citizens of the Palace unless they had her express permission, and even then its golden hinges would not swing the oak door open unless the water Sailor Senshi assented. This was why she was confused to hear a knock on the door. Her friends and fellow Senshi never bothered her here, and the only other person with access (besides Queen Serenity, who was much to busy to investigate Ami's research), was Zoisite, but he was attending some important meeting with Prince Endymion on Earth that was likely to take several days.

She sighed at the thought of her lover, placing her tools beside the sample and entering one final piece of data into the computer before walking towards the heavy wooden door.

"Who is it?" Her voice was sweet, and deceptively calm, betraying no hint of her excitement at the possibility that just maybe Zoisite had escaped early.

"Let me in, and I'll tell you."

Ami giggled, touching the keypad next to the door to allow entry as she spoke, "I don't think you'll have to tell me Zoisite."

The door swung open to reveal the very man, his curly blonde hair in as much disarray as always, barely held back by a leather thong, who quickly stepped inside and closed it behind him, looking down at her. He was only half a head taller than her small frame, but it was enough for the both of them, and his warm personality more than made up for his short stature (comparative to his fellow Shitennou and Prince, of course). His lips were curled into a half smile, betraying a sense of embarrassment.

"How did you know it was me?"

"Simple deduction, my dear Shitennou, you are, after all, the only male who can even see the door." She stood there for a moment, simply drinking him in, before flinging herself into his strong arms, "I've missed you."

"I've missed you too," he smiled, wrapping his arms around her waist and holding her tightly to his form, "but think, soon, when Endymion comes to live on the Moon, we will be able to be together whenever we wish. After our marriage, of course," he amended, looking sheepish.

Ami quirked a half smile of her own to match his, "Why, of course. Though I do believe our other duties may interfere with that plan of yours."

He shook his head, grinning, "I think not. I doubt Endymion shall ever leave the side of his Princess, once they are wed, and so we shall be together always on duty, and then when we have our free time (which I can easily convince Endymion to give me at the same time as yours) we shall be able to spend all our time in this laboratory or…"

He paused, curling his neck til his lips were at her left ear, kissing the side of her face before whispering, "or, in our rooms." Ami shivered and turned her head to meet his, kissing him passionately as her hands slipped from his neck to his muscled back, one of his hands brushing her breast in the process, causing her to moan slightly.

"You know, I do believe that plan is flawless after all." She grinned wickedly up at him after breaking away, breathing heavily, "Shall we test it, to give ourselves before and after data?"

"Dear Princess, I believe you are onto something."

* * *

Zoisite's eyes opened wide to the semi-lit room, he could remember the feeling of his lips at her ears, of his hands roaming her body, of her petite hands on his back. He could remember the excitement of sneaking down the marble hallways of the Palace, the incredible love he felt for Mercury, the carnal desire to have his wicked way with her. 

They had both decided that sex was not something which should be first experienced in the marital bed (a choice which was perfectly well accepted in the Silver Millenium). All of their research had told them that the first time was likely to be awkward and uncomfortable for the two of them, so Mercury took the initiative and his offer and decided to do away with the uncomfortable first time. It was like an entirely different kind of experiment, to prove their research wrong.

Unfortunately, their data was right. At least the first time. But after that it had grown much more enjoyable for them both. Zoisite remembered back with a grin, he had even managed to slip a ring on her finger that evening, as they lay on their sides, facing each other. He had simply said "Marry me" as he stared at her, feeling overjoyed as she simply nodded with that little smile on her face that he loved so much.

He had pulled the ring out of his sub-space pocket then, and he did so unconsciously now. His eyes opened wider as he found a small circular metal item at the very bottom, hidden underneath a few other necessary items (a map, a compass – just in case). Zoisite pulled the ring from the pocket and stared at it in the grey light – it was small, but he could tell it would fit her finger perfectly, and it had one large oval stone in the centre of the golden band, its brilliant blue-purple hue even clear in the dark (though he remembered it much brighter). Zoisite. The stone was made of zoisite. It was not alone on the band, with two smaller oval diamonds on either side, but it was the brilliance of the type of zoisite, tanzanite, that drew the eye.

He smiled. It was another way of proving his claim on her, the stone said as much – with zoisite on her finger at all times, she could only be his.

* * *

Usagi slept deeply through the night, drifting from one dream to the next, happily situated in the dramatic concoctions of her mind. But she also recognised when dream shifted to memory, about halfway into her peaceful slumber. Her cerulean blue eyes were opened to a semi-familiar scene from the Moon Kingdom - in fact, she was certain she was sitting on the huge bed in her former bedchambers. She marvelled at its beauty, and she was shocked to find that she remembered every detail – from the softness of the mattress, to the small trinkets lining her dressing table, which also held her most precious jewellery. She knew that the door to the left of her bed lead into her library, filled to the brim with novels and exotic texts from around the known universe. She knew that the door to the right contained an opulent bathroom, with white marble fixtures highlighted with green stone, a large almost swimming-pool sized bath, and another dressing table, this one covered in various make-ups. 

Serenity relaxed against her multitude of soft, fluffy pillows, passing time before her arranged meeting with Endymion. She sighed happily, reaching over to one of her nightstands to pull out a collection of poetry by an ancient Terran author – her Prince had given it to her as a gift at their last meeting. It was interesting to read, after all the Terrans used different cadences in their speech, and spoke slower too, meaning that the words were spoken as if they were loved, lingered over and caressed.

The Princess did not even realise she had fallen asleep until she was awoken by her Prince, one of his strong, calloused hands shaking her gently. She smiled up at him and shrieked a little when he picked her up as easily as he would a feather, without warning, before swinging her safely into his arms and swiftly jumping from her white marble balcony to the path below. She grinned at the exhilarating combined feeling of being pulled so close to his warm chest (though it was unfortunately covered by his metal armour) and having no control over where she was going.

She tucked her face into the crook of his neck and let him take her where he would, breathing in his familiar scent and sighing happily. It was good just to be close to her fiancé again. He'd been to Jupiter and her moons in the attempt to establish a closer relationship between the Terrans and people of Jupiter, particularly trading routes with the promise of an exchange of goods unique to each of their planets. It must have gone well, since Endymion was home a whole week before he was due. Serenity was just glad her mother had finally agreed to let the Prince and his Shitennou reside in quarters near her own, and her Senshi's – it meant she would see him more often.

Endymion's gait finally slowed and Serenity felt safe enough to peer out from her hiding place, sparkling blue eyes widening in delight as she realised where he had taken her – the place of many of their firsts. It was a grove of cherry-blossom trees which opened onto the Sea of Serenity, kept in constant bloom by the power of the Ginzuishou and the natural magic of the Moon. The Prince placed his Princess at the edge of the sand, atop a pile of blush-pink petals, smiling as she ran her fingers through the soft flowers. It was the place of their first informal meeting, free of the constraints of court, their first kiss, their first 'I-love-you's' and their first, and only, engagements.

He lowered himself to sit beside her, willing his armour to change into a plain blue tunic (to match his eyes, of course), black breeches and well worn black leather boots. He wrapped his left arm about her waist and drew her close to him, looking down on her soft silver hair as it settled on his chest.

They sat there in comfortable silence for a few minutes, his head resting in-between the two buns which were the customary hairstyle of the Royal Family of the Moon, her head lying just above his heart, fingers intertwined as they stared out to the blue horizon. It was a peaceful moment, the kind of which were getting rarer as they grew older, due to increasing responsibilities as a result of nearing their maturity. They were being prepared to be the co-monarchs of both the Moon and Earth, roles which had never before been filled, or even possible. While Serenity's main duties were on the Moon, she was also required to spend time on Earth with her Senshi, learning the customs of the Terrans as well as learning the complex daily routines of the Terran monarchs. Endymion's were similar, the only difference being he spent most of his time on Earth, with little time on the Moon.

Their schedules, fortunately, often happened to coincide, since they would spend two weeks on their own planet followed by one week on the others, but the timing of these visits was staggered so as to allow a two week overlap – Endymion would spend one week alone on the Earth, followed by one with Serenity, followed by them both returning to the Moon before he went home the next week to restart the schedule. Though sometimes this routine was interrupted for the heir's special ambassadorial duties, which Serenity did not have many of as a result of her Mother's protectiveness, as it had been these last two weeks for Endymion's trade discussions with Jupiter.

Serenity shifted in the arms of her love, forcing Endymion to move his head from atop hers. He took this opportunity to kiss her softly, his warm lips meeting her for the first time in what felt like an eternity (in truth, it had been only a little more than one week), both rejoicing in the familiar sensation of electricity spreading throughout their bones. Neither could imagine kissing anyone else, though both had enjoyed such flirtations in the fast, they were truly made for one another. They slowly broke away and Endymion shifted her back into her original position against his back, the fingers of his left hand intertwining with hers, the fingers of his right running through silky strands of silver hair as it wrapped about her waist.

Serenity smiled, there was no other place she would rather be than here in his arms.

* * *

Rei sighed and attacked her pillow, beating it into a more acceptable shape. She was wide awake, though she had felt like she could sleep for days only mere hours ago after returning home from the battle. In the dark grey light, all the walls of her room seemed to merge together, distinctions between items blurring as they all turned dark and gruesome. She had dreamt. As a Shinto priestess-in-training, Rei knew how to discern dream from message, and message from memory, and the Martian Princess knew that this was no mere dream or message, it was too vivid for either of those – it had to be memory.

* * *

If one had been looking on (which none were), one would have seen a couple, a blonde male with short hair and a long-and-flame-red haired female, their bodies intertwined in the midst of the pitch black room. They did not need their eyes to see, but instead used their hands to trace every contour of the others body as they lay upon the large bed in the dark room, every entrance closed, locked and curtained if it were a window. 

They were not, however, fearful of intruders, for the wrath of Mars was legendary, especially when her doors were locked. The pair wore no clothes, they were unnecessary in each others presence, only a hindrance to more enjoyable activities.

Princess Rei of Mars felt his soft lips at her neck, they always knew the exact spot that made her shiver in delight.

////CENSORED TO FIT FANFICTION(DOT)NET'S GUIDELINES. PLEASE SEE AUTHORS NOTE FOR FURTHER INFORMATION (AND WHERE TO FIND THE COMPLETE VERSION)////

Jadeite rolled over to his side and fixed her with one lazy eye, "Up for round two, my fiery love?"

"I'm up for rounds two, three, four and any more you can think of, if you're up to it, that is," she smirked at him, expecting him to laugh off her cocky mannerisms. She gasped when he rolled atop her and began to touch her once more, crushing his lips desperately to hers, his fingers weaving themselves into her crimson hair.

He took a short moment to breathe, holding his lips to her ear and whispering huskily, "I'm going to hold you to that, Mars."

* * *

Rei thought of it now and her heart continued to pound in her chest, reminding her of those nights of passion and love, of the love she felt for him. She was shocked at the emotions, and the miko was positive she had never experienced anything so strong in this lifetime, except maybe the feeling of dread that accompanied the appearance of an enemy. Though, now that she thought of it, the worst anxiety had come at the beginning of her career as Sailor Mars, when she had faced her first enemy – Jadeite. 

Rei knew now why that was – she was dreading the day she would have to destroy her soul-mate and love of her many lives because of his evil turn. She was betrayed, and she vowed never to allow that possibility again. Not even for Kaidou-san would she open her heart, if it meant that kind of betrayal, the kind she had felt when Jadeite had plunged his sword deep into her torso and pierced both her heart and her soul.

But Rei was not done thinking, her mind was struck with one final thought before memory claimed her once more -'Red? My hair was red? But it was black when I was transformed into Sailor Mars on the Moon…I'll have to ask Ami.'

* * *

Jadeite luxuriated in his bedroom, finally arranged to his specifications (with no help from those ungrateful bastards however). He smiled easily into the darkness, grinning in a way that would make any girls heart melt – except Rei's, of course. That thought only made him smile harder, she was the one girl who seemed immune to his charms (though that had not made him stop trying), the one girl who hit him when he flirted instead of giggling helplessly. She had fire, strength, and she was, by no stretch of the imagination, a weak typical girl. He loved her for her uniqueness, and her refusals on spurned his advances on. 

He grinned further, and look where the two of them had ended up, engaged and having the best sex of their lives. All he had to do was wait until she recovered her memories.

Jadeite groaned. He had never been the most patient man, and this week could last for a lifetime – it was only the second, well almost third, day of their forced exile from their loves and it already felt like forever.

The blonde was, unconsciously, rolling a golden ring between his fingers.

He had not realised when he pulled it from his sub-space pocket, or what it was when he placed it atop one finger to admire it further. The vivid green stone, cut square, held most of his attention. The band was simple enough, and the two smaller diamonds on either side were there for the sake of tradition, but the stone? He knew instantly it was jadeite, and when he had put it on her finger (the next morning after their passionate encounter at breakfast, nothing too romantic, just a perfect moment).

He could not, however, remember why it was in his possession.

* * *

Makoto tossed back and forth in her bed, sheets constricting her movement, wrapping themselves about her chest, legs and arms in an unconscious attempt to keep her still. But Makoto could not be still, her mind was filled with the images of a time long past, and a love long since gone. She was tormented by these ghosts of the people she had once known, of the life she had once led, of the person she had cared for above her own life, that same person who she had forfeited her life to in the end. 

Her eyes closed…

… and opened to a gigantic white marble kitchen, perfectly set out for a staff of at least twenty. Her hands were set to kneading dough, but at the moment the poor helpless combination of flour and water was being pounded into the counter-top. Profanities were littering the air as she attacked the dough, slamming it over and over again into the counter.

"Stupid, fucking man. How dare that little shit be making eyes like that at some other girl! Just because I have freaking ideals that mean I don't want to just fucking give it up to him at a moments notice does not mean he can go off and flirt with other girls!"

She groaned, pulling her hair from the dough for a moment because her arms had cramped up. She washed them in the sink and found her long hair was falling out of its ponytail. Makoto stomped her foot in frustration – would nothing go right today?

Her fingers combed quickly through her long green hair, a gift from her family which meant everyone knew she was the damned Princess of Jupiter. Every single freaking member of her family had hair that was green, though admittedly different shades. Makoto had been blessed with the loveliest, a dark rich colour that matched her eyes perfectly. But of course the Princess did not see it this was, especially when it meant the children wouldn't play with her for fear of getting in trouble.

Things had only gotten worse, Makoto remembered as her fingers swiftly pulled the thick hair up into a ponytail, when she had grown up. The green hair meant she was easily visible in any social function, which resulted in many suitors often seeking her out and following her around the room until she relented and agreed to dance with them. It made for many frustrating nights, and she was relieved to finally take up the mantel of Sailor Jupiter. This prestigious role had one giant benefit, at least in her eyes – as with all of the past Senshi of Jupiter, her hair turned a lovely auburn-brown when she transformed, and she could keep this colour for almost a whole day if she tried. For once she could be anonymous, to blend in with the crowd. It was a marvellous blessing amidst the hours of training and lessons.

Of course, everything had been fine until that stupid smirking arsehole had come into her life. She could deal with the unrelenting suitors and the unending hours of training and caring for Princess Serenity. She was born and bred for these things as Princess of Jupiter. Sure, it frustrated the hell out of her but what choice did she have? It was her duty and Serenity was her friend, she would not let anything happen to the heir. But then Endymion and his guards had waltzed into their lives, sweeping the Princesses off their feet, promising unending love.

Why was it then that she had seen him flirting, less than an hour ago, with that insipid Lady Verity?

The door flung open, even though she had specifically ordered it not to let anyone in, particularly that piece of swine who called himself her love. So, of course, it was him.

She looked at him furiously before deciding she would ignore him. He couldn't piss her off if she didn't talk to him. Turning her back to him, Princess Makoto returned to her kneading, putting all of her frustrations into the poor piece of dough.

Nephrite stood behind her, his brown eyes trained upon her hands as they worked the dough. He said nothing.

The silence was deafening, and Makoto's pounding slowed. She whirled around to glare at him with hard green eyes.

"What. Do. You. Want." She spat out slowly, emphasising every word, watching him closely for any sign of weakness. Her heart ached as she looked at the man who she thought loved her, but when it had come down to it, he was just like any other man – chasing the nearest skirt.

He didn't answer, simply meeting her eyes with his own, standing stoically before her with his long curly brown hair tied back in a style similar to Zoisite's, a style he only used when he was stressed. His arms were crossed against his chest but he stood comfortably, leaning against the counter opposite to her own.

"Get. Out. Nephrite. You have no business here. I saw you with Lady Verity."

His eyes never wavered, and she shifted uncomfortably.

"If you must stay, then at least say something."

"Marry me."

Makoto's eyes widened in shock, "What did you say?"

"Princess Makoto of Jupiter, will you do me the honour of becoming my wife?"

"Not until you tell me what the heck you were doing with Lady Verity, and then only if it was innocent." Makoto's eyes blazed again, "it had better have been innocent."

"Mako-chan, my little chef, of course it was innocent," his deep brown eyes blazed with sincerity, "Lady Verity has been helping me to acquire this."

He held out a small box, opening it as he held it before her, nestled inside the velvet padding was a small golden band with a deep green oval stone set between two small diamonds. Makoto's mouth opened in surprise.

"It's beautiful," she breathed, reaching out with one hand to touch the stone in the centre, "is that… that's nephrite, yes?"

He nodded, "I could think of no better way to claim you as my own than with this ring."

She smiled softly at him, "I don't think I could have either," Makoto paused, "that's why I saw you smile with a box in your hands before kissing Lady Verity on the cheek?"

Nephrite nodded eagerly, looking very child-like for a moment, "I was merely thanking her for her marvellous help in finding a jeweller who works with specialist gemstones in the city. I simply wished to show her the beautiful work he had created."

"Oh, Nephrite. I'm so sorry." She flung herself into his arms, kissing him deeply, "Of course I'll marry you. I love you."

"I love you too, Mako-chan."

* * *

Nephrite held the ring in his hands, smiling at it. She had forgiven him that day, he knew she would do it again. They needed each other, he just hoped she would understand that he'd had no choice in the matter when it came to Beryl. He was made… not weaker by their love, but more susceptible to the promise of a better future for Earth. He had hoped they could live together in his quadrant of Earth, peacefully and without fuss, but by the time he had discovered the malcontent of Beryl it had been too late – she'd had full control over his mind and body. 

But never his soul.

He had given his soul away with this ring. He had attempted to take it back by pulling the ring from her cold finger after running her through with his sword, but even in death she had claimed him.

He just hoped she would forgive him.

* * *

Usagi stared out the window into the dark night, the yellow streetlights sending pools of yellow light onto the concrete. It had been almost an hour since she had woken from her dream and she couldn't sleep. Sighing, she pulled out her cell phone and flipped it open, starting the text message function –  
_/Mamo-chan. If I'm right, you can't sleep either. Did you dream? Xx Usako/_

She sent it and stared out the window once more, rubbing the place on the fourth finger of her left hand where her engagement ring should have sat. Usagi remembered that she would constantly fiddle with the golden band, twisting the inset large pink diamond and its two smaller, clear friends to sit so they faced into her palm or away from her palm.

Her hand felt empty without her ring.

From the moment he had placed it on her finger, it had felt like a part of her, destined to be there. She missed it, but the Princess realised it would return to her finger when the time was right. She was only sixteen after all, her father would probably kill Mamoru if he proposed now.

She sighed. That didn't change that she missed it. Maybe she could wear it on a chain around her neck until she was old enough not to need her father's approval. She wanted to do it right, to have the traditional wedding and ceremonies, but at the same time she wanted to feel that she had a permanent hold on Mamoru. Sometimes the knowledge that they were destined to be together still wasn't enough.

Her phone vibrated and she smiled, she knew he wouldn't be sleeping, even though it was 3.32am.

_/Usako, yes, I did dream. And no, I can't sleep. How did you know? Love, Mamoru./_

Usagi grinned at the screen,_ /I think I may have had the same dream. Were we on the shore of the Sea of Serenity, just spending time together? Xx Usako./_

She waited impatiently for a few minutes, cursing the network and it's slowness, deciding to turn on the light if she wasn't going to get to sleep any time soon. Usagi rolled over to her bedside table and flicked the lamp-switch, flooding the room with a pale light. Smiling, Usagi picked up her phone again, which was vibrating almost imperceptibly.

She opened it again, reading the message as she used the other hand to comb through one long mussed streamer of hair.

_/We were indeed. It was lovely, Usako. We were so much in love, like we are now. I wonder if the Shitennou and Senshi are experiencing this the same way? Love, Mamo-chan./_

Usagi went to reply, but looked briefly at the odango she had been playing with. She shrieked quietly in surprise.

The hair was silver.

She checked the other long streamer of hair, and it too was silver. If she wasn't mistaken, her hair was longer too. Usagi clambered off the bed and stood before the full-length mirror in a corner, staring in shock at the length of her hair. It touched the ground.

If she wasn't mistaken, she was taller too.

Her phone buzzed again and Usagi was pulled from her reverie.

_/Usako? You okay? Or have you fallen asleep? Love, Mamoru./_

She scrambled to reply,_ /Mamoru, love. I think you need to come over here. Something weird is going on. Love, Usagi./  
__  
_

* * *

Across town, Mamoru stared in shock at his phone. Usagi never used their full names unless it was serious. 

_/I'm coming now, Usako. Give me a few minutes, okay? Love, Mamoru./_

He had never been so glad that his powers transferred over to his civilian form. Mamoru locked his front door, unlocked his balcony door and jumped from rooftop to rooftop til he reached Usagi's suburb, where he was forced to run along the backstreets for almost a minute before returning to the roofs.

It had only been three minutes since his last message when Mamoru jumped in through her window. It was convenient, at times like these, to have the powers of a superhero.

Of course, it was also possible that it was the superhero powers that were causing the troubles in the first place.

Usagi heard his soft entry and whirled around to face him. She watched as her loves eyes opened wide at her changed appearance.

"Serenity?" Mamoru whispered, his eyes sweeping from the tips of her odangoes to the twin piles of hair at her feet. He could have sworn she was taller as well.

Usagi nodded, smiling slightly before frowning, "Mamoru, have you noticed any changes?"

"To you?" He asked, confused.

"No," she shook her head, "To you. Look." Usagi pointed towards the mirror.

Mamoru stood before it and realised he couldn't see his entire body in the mirror, no matter how he tilted it. He frowned.

"I'm taller, aren't I, Usako?" Mamoru questioned calmly, turning to see her nod, "And is my hair darker? I look… older, don't I?"

Usagi nodded, "Yes. Same with me, Mamo-chan?" He nodded back, "We look like Serenity and Endymion then…" Usagi wondered out loud, "I wonder what caused this… is it the memories, or something more important?"

Mamoru shrugged, "I suppose we have to wait then. We've always been given an answer in the past."

Usagi smiled, "You're right, Mamo-chan. I wonder if this is happening to the Senshi as well…"

"We'll worry about that tomorrow, well… today actually. For now, how about we try and get some sleep? I promise I'll leave before your parents wake up in the morning." Usagi smiled at Mamoru's words, nodding tiredly.

"That sounds wonderful, Mamo-chan." They settled back onto the bed and Mamoru wrapped his arms around Usagi, "Oh, Mamo-chan? Do you by any chance have a ring in your sub-space pocket? I can't find it in mine and I would have thought it would be there…"

"Let me check," Mamoru rummaged around in his subspace pocket, reaching past a few roses and his cane til he reached the lowest level of the pocket that was being currently used. His fingers alit upon a cool, smooth metal band and he knew he had found what Usagi wanted.

He held it out to her, watching as her face lit up, both of her hands reaching up to cup it gently, the fingers of her right hand softly tracing its smooth lines. The diamonds sparkled in the light and Usagi looked up it in delight.

"May I…?" She looked up at him hesitantly, holding the ring above her ring finger.

"Usako, in my mind we have been engaged since that day over a thousand years ago. If you need me to propose again, I will, but in my mind there is no need."

"Would you mind?" Her face was so fragile in that moment, all her deepest desires laid bare for him to see. She was so open, and he had never loved her so much, even in that moment of weakness.

"Usako, Usagi, Serenity. I love you, will you marry me?" His voice was deep, husky and filled with emotion as he took the ring from her hand.

"Yes." Usagi whispered, unable to believe that he would actually ask.

He placed the ring on her finger for the first time in a thousand years and Usagi finally felt complete.

She settled back against him and he wrapped his arms about her once more, shifting their bodies so that they were lying on their sides, before taking one hand and reaching for the light switch.

They lay there comfortably in the dark and Usagi felt herself growing tired, finally.

"Mamo-chan, Mamoru, Endymion. I love you." She whispered into the dark, smiling happily. Everything felt right.

"I love you too, Usako," he whispered as they fell asleep, "I love you too."

* * *

The next day was fairly quiet, the Senshi and Shitennou used the day to sleep after a restless night while Usagi and Mamoru spent the day together, trying to hide her hair from her parents. Eventually, they decided to just tell her parents that she had dyed it for a dare with the girls, and to hope that they didn't notice the length or that she was now at least half a head taller than the night before. 

The easiest way to do that? Have Usagi run yelling out the door that she was late for a date with Mamoru and the excuse about her hair. They spent the day at Mamoru's apartment, cutting her hair til it was it's original length – reaching her ankle – then spending the rest of the day watching anime and movies.

Usagi returned home and locked herself in her room, telling her mother that she'd had dinner with Mamoru and wasn't really hungry for anything more. She laid down on her bed and pulled her communicator out of the back pocket of her jeans, calling all four of her Senshi simultaneously.

"Mars here."

"Mercury here."

"Jupiter here."

"Venus here."

Her Senshi looked exhausted, like they hadn't slept all night. Usagi smiled and nodded, her theory was confirmed – they were dreaming of their past. Another theory had come to her, as she was drifting to sleep: if she had been unable to sleep until Mamoru had come, then perhaps it was the same with the Senshi – they wouldn't be able to sleep until they accepted the Shitennou again.

Usagi groaned internally, that would force their hands then, making the Senshi more vulnerable until they finally accepted their other halves.

"What's up, Moon?" Minako hazarded, seeing their leader's pensive face.

"Just wanted to check in with everyone, and discuss this new enemy. Can we meet at the Temple in twenty minutes?" Usagi's voice was confident, and while she knew that her leadership skills had grown in the past year, she was suddenly certain that her training as Princess in her past life was helping her now.

The girls all agreed and Usagi bolted from her room again, enjoying her run to the Hikawa Shrine. She thought about calling Mamoru but she realised he was probably busy in a meeting with the Shitennou, who were most likely feeling pretty sleep deprived about now.

She was first to the Shrine, after Rei of course, and sat down to collect her thoughts, sharing some tea with Rei. Usagi examined her friend when she sat down across from her, seeing the haggard face of a sleep deprived friend. Then she frowned, something wasn't right.

Then it clicked, "Rei, did you dye your hair? Or put a wash through it? I think I see a hint of… red?"

"You should talk, Odango Atama, what's with the silver?" Rei's words were harsher than usual, but Usagi shrugged them off, she knew her friend was more tetchy as a result of her lack of sleep.

"I woke up this morning and it was like this," Usagi paused, searching her friends face, "Was it the same with you?"

Rei blushed in embarrassment, she hadn't meant to attack her Princess but she was just so tired… "Gomen, Usagi-chan. Yes, it was the same. Except mine isn't nearly as strong as yours is. Why is that?"  
Usagi smiled mysteriously, "I have a theory about that, but I need to see Mako-chan before I say anything."

Lucky for Usagi, and for Rei's temper, Makoto arrived next, she greeted her friends and Usagi internally crowed with excitement. She was right!

They spoke politely for a few minutes, making small talk, before Rei's patience finished, "So, Odango, Makoto is here, mind telling us about that theory now?"

Usagi smiled again, "Okay, so Rei your hair has a tinge of red in it, and Mako-chan, yours has a tinge of green. Well, if I'm not mistaken this is connected to the memories that I think you have been receiving. In fact, I think that by remembering your past lives, it is causing you to slowly receive some of the gifts of your past personas. This means the hereditary appearances of Princesses from your various planets."

She paused, watching as this information sunk into her friends before continuing, "So, I think that, the more you remember, the more your hair will turn back to its natural colour. In fact, I think that your old hair colours from this life were just an attempt to further hide you, on top of your glamours."

Her friends stared at her in shock, "When did you get so smart, Usagi-chan?" Rei breathed, even using a more polite form of address to show her surprise.

"Oh, that's just a result of my memories coming back. Serenity is merging with me, I think. It's pretty kawaii actually! I mean, look at this hair! When I first saw it, it was pooling on the floor! Mamo-chan had to help me cut it so I could just pretend like I'd lost a dare with you girls." Usagi giggled and the shock of her friends seemed to evaporate – no matter how much Usagi remembered of Serenity, she was still their loving, caring friend.

Minako and Ami showed up and they discussed the two leaders they had seen before the cardian had attacked, but came up with no further clues. Usagi noted, with glee, that while she herself was well rested, the girls were exhausted, and she was certain this was evidence to prove her theory that they needed their counterparts.

How they were going to last the next four days was anybodies guess.

* * *

PLEASE READ (DETAILS TO UNCENSORED VERSION OF THIS CHAPTER)

Hey everyone!

Okay. To fit in with the guidelines (I really don't want to loose all my lovely reviews), I have censored the section with Rei and Jadeite. I don't know how NC17 I'm allowed to get here, so, the real, complete version can be found over at www(dot)destinysgateway(dot)com(slash)viewstory(dot)php?sid3238&textsize0&chapter6

Hope you liked this chapter, I honestly think this is my favourite ever chapter. Of any fic. : ) I loved all your reviews, I promise I will get back to you soon! (I've been busy laughs

Oh, and if that link above doesn't work? Search for Goddess Usagi in the toolbar at the top. Also, I welcome you all to come join me over there (I've been made a moderator by the owner), its a lovely community.

Hugs,

xx Usa


	7. Chapter 7

* * *

**Chapter Seven**

* * *

Mamoru groaned as he opened his eyes for the second time that morning. He had escaped from Usagi's home with only minutes to spare, barely making it out the door as Ikuko and Kenji awoke and began preparing for their day. Never before had Mamoru been so thankful for his superheroic powers – he knew very well the wrath of Tsukino Kenji.

He had trekked his way to the Shitennou's apartment, too tired to return to his own bed, and crashed on their couch until he awoke for a second time. They had been surprised, but not overly so, in fact they seemed exhausted, as though they had not slept at all that night.

By the time he awoke, it was nigh on 11am, and Mamoru was shocked to find he had slept so long. He opened his eyes to the enviously exhausted faces of his men, whose eyes focussed upon him the minute he woke. Mamoru was certain that their training, and thus their past, was returning to them. He sat up and looked closely at his men, frowning as he noticed they were all holding something.

All four had at least one golden ring in their hands, Nephrite and Kunzite held three; if he was correct, these had been the items which had held their attention prior to his escape from sleep. Kunzite spoke first, his words slow and drawn out by exhaustion:

"Morning, Prince. How as your sleep?"

Mamoru attempted a joke, "Better than yours, I'd say," as he met Kunzite's reddened eyes with his own, "Better than all of yours, in fact."

"You would be right," Jadeite said tiredly, glancing up at his Prince before returning his attentions to the ring in his hand, mumbling "Lucky bastard."

Kunzite shot him a deadly look for that final comment, but Mamoru simply shrugged it off, they had different expectations of behaviour now, and the Prince of Earth knew he would prefer friends who he could tease and have fun with over guardians who were solemn and proper.

"Don't bother Kunzite. All of you look exhausted, so I wouldn't be worrying about propriety right now. Mind telling me why you can't sleep, and why you have those rings in your hands?" Mamoru looked worriedly at his men, expecting their leader to answer, however it was Nephrite who spoke first.

"We dreamt once more. Happy memories this time. We each awoke to find we could not return to our dreams, could not sleep at all. And we awoke to find these rings in our sub-space pockets." Nephrite's voice was tired as well, and somewhat incomprehensible in places.

"Well, what good is that?" Jadeite retorted, "I can't even remember why I have her ring in the first place. Just that it was there."

"I do," Nephrite paused, looking at his comrades, "We stole them, prised them from the cold, dead fingers of our soulmates after we tore their souls from their bodies. I don't know that I can forgive myself for that."

His friends looked at him in horror, knowing they had done the exact same thing to the women they had pledged their lives to. Mamoru's face was covered in pity for his men, he knew the power of Metallia, how it could turn even the most loving men into the most horrific. It was not a sign of weakness to be thus brainwashed by some of the darkest and most evil people in the universe, even Usagi would not have been able to withstand it. But that did not change the terrifying consequences, the self-destructive thoughts.

It did not change the guilt.

Before this day, Zoisite, Kunzite and Jadeite had not remembered their final hours with the Senshi, but the horrifying memories came rushing back now. Jadeite remembered the gleeful feeling of power as he slit Rei's throat and shuddered, he knew his biggest weakness in the Golden Kingdom had been his lack of control over his own life, and to take that out on Rei… He knew then that he had been denying him memories in fear of feeling that again.

Zoisite remembered holding his strong hand around Ami's soft neck before plunging his sword into her abdomen. He remembered wanting to punish her for teasing him, for promising she would love him forever, for the betrayed and hurt look in her eyes as he struck her. There had always been a small part of him that had been jealous of her superior intellect and supernatural powers, abilities he could never seem to grasp. Beryl had taken advantage of that small piece of doubt, and the blonde swore he would never let it happen again. He would accept Ami with her many gifts and trusting faults, and he would do his best to be better than he was before, he owed her that much.

And Kunzite. He remembered those biting words that seemed to tear apart both their souls. He remembered giving in to his anger for the first time ever, a strange feeling. He remembered the love draining out of her eyes, replaced quickly by pain, which multiplied as he lunged. He remembered the final time they had touched. And he remembered that it was filled with shock as she slapped him. He remembered his blade sliding easily though her soft flesh, the formerly unmarked flesh that he had loved to run his fingers over.

He remembered tearing the rings from her finger, ripping his own off, and throwing them into his sub-space pocket with hardly another thought. But the scariest thing he remembered? The satisfaction of watching her body fall, another enemy felled, and feeling nothing more than the bloodlust.

It was Kunzite's eyes that scared Mamoru most. More than the dull horror in Nephrite's, an emotion that seemed to have been accepted but not yet overcome. More than the defeated determination in Zoisite's. More than the fear in Jadeite's.

Kunzite's eyes held the most pain, the most fear, the most horror, all mixed in with the worst – defeat.

Mamoru could deal with the emotions separately, as they were in the other Shitennou, but together? He wasn't certain he would be able to convince Kunzite it hadn't been his fault. It had taken Mamoru a long time to come to this conclusion on his own, since he had refused to listen to Usagi when she brought it up as a topic, her worried expression only making him feel guiltier for his isolation. But he had reached it, and he felt certain that Kunzite would be able to let go of his guilt with the help of someone who had experienced the same.

"Jadeite? Nephrite? Zoisite? Would you please excuse us for a moment? I have a need to talk with Kunzite." While it was phrased as a question, Mamoru's words were not to be interpreted as anything less than an order. The three looked up from the rings in their hands, shocked, before complying quickly, walking down the hallway to their various bedrooms and closing the doors firmly behind them.

"Kunzite. Look at me."

Mamoru's deep blue eyes were met by tormented silver eyes which pleaded with him to please, please just leave him and his pain alone. Mamoru shook his head, "Kunzite. You cannot blame yourself. You must not. Beryl has gained control over the strongest of us. I am certain you remember my own time as a member of the Dark Kingdom. But did you know I almost killed Usagi?"

Kunzite's eyes widened in shock, but still he did not speak, he had not known this, since he had been residing within a stone at that particular time, eons away from his Prince. Mamoru nodded and smiled a little, "We did not get on then, I remember that much. But when you were gone, Beryl relied only on me. She ordered me to kill Usako, and I very nearly did that. My only redemption is in my failure."

The Prince took a deep breath, and continued with his story, "I… I did not even recognise her. All I was thinking was 'kill kill kill kill', there was no room for even the tiniest 'no'. I just wanted to fulfil my orders, to remove the obstacle to my rightful position. Beryl was good at that. Usagi begged me, she cried my name amidst her screams, but all I wanted was to inflict pain. It was such an adrenaline rush, I felt so powerful, so in control, and Usagi could not fight me."

His eyes filled with pain at this too, "It was a sadistic pleasure, torturing her, playing with her, bringing her inches away from death and then not allowing her to die. Later, I could not forgive myelf. I did not speak to Usagi for almost a month, I refused to let her come near me in the fear that the darkness would overwhelm me and I would try to kill her again, even knowing that Metallia was defeated. It didn't feel safe for us to be together. And in that time apart, I managed to blame myself for every failure, I felt dead inside, so guilty. But Usagi… she refused to let me surrender to my weakness. She reminded me that she loved me, and that it was not my fault."

Kunzite looked at his Prince bitterly, and his words were harsh, "Did you tell her you didn't love her? Did you actually manage to murder her, and feel nothing but pleasure? I killed her. I killed Minako. I do not deserve forgiveness for such an act."

"Was it your choice? Did you wake up one day and think 'I think I'll kill Minako today'? No! Of course you didn't. If you had been in control of your own body, you would have never completed such an act. You cannot be blamed for this. It was not your fault. The only culprit can be Metallia and Beryl, and they have already been punished for their sins. You must not hurt yourself for this, you could not have fought against it. The darkness… it is overwhelming. You had no choice, Kunzite-san. There was nothing you could have done to prevent it." Mamoru spoke softly, kindly, slowly reminding Kunzite of the unbelievable power of Metallia.

"I was honour-bound to defend you, my men, and my wife. I did none of these things. I caused all of their deaths. And I felt nothing but satisfaction. Do not try and tell me I had no choice, for surely that voice was present in the back of my mind, telling me how wrong my actions were." Kunzite spat out his defeated words, refusing once more to meet the eyes of his Prince.

"If you did not deserve redemption, if you had not fought against that power, you would not be here now. Usagi died to bring us all back to life, and Queen Serenity thought it right to return you to me and Minako. You cannot argue against such an opportunity. She will still love you, Kunzite. And she will forgive you. Because if there is one thing I know, it is the pain of knowing there is someone who loves you, and knowing you cannot be with them. I order you not to beat yourself up about this. If I can succumb to it so easily, you, who is stronger even than I, cannot be blamed for fighting and losing. All that matters to Minako is that you are happy, even though she doesn't know it yet. Please Kunzite, at least accept this was not your fault, or you will condemn us all."

Kunzite finally met the pleading eyes of his Prince, "I will not blame myself further. But I had some responsibility in these matters. Now, if I am not mistaken, the others are in need of your kind words, my lord."

Mamoru nodded, looking relieved, "Please, Kunzite. Don't make me pull rank on you again. I get the feeling the Senshi are going to need our help in this battle, and I can't be worrying about you having suicidal thoughts. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to talk to the others."

Kunzite stood along with his Prince and bowed, "As is your wish, your Highness."

* * *

Usagi sighed, it was still three more days until the pre-assigned week was up but her friends were so exhausted already, she was not certain she could retain her determination until they remembered everything, three days hence. Usagi was finding her memories were flooding back now, anytime her eyes alit on something she found a memory arising. She felt like there were two people inhabiting her one body, Serenity and herself, where Usagi saw the beautiful roses Mamoru would send, Serenity was reminded of her first kiss and Endymion's scent. He had always smelt of red roses, and was often giving her gifts of them to remind her of him in the long days they spent away from each other.

She was sitting in one of the many booths in the Crown Arcade, her friends next to her, their heads propped against the cushioned seats. Minako's eyes stared straight ahead, her chin leaning on the table, propped up only by an elbow, while Ami had her head on Mako's shoulder, whose head was resting against the booth divider behind her. It was Rei, however, who looked the worst; her face buried in her hands and her usually smooth, silky black hair was in complete disarray, tangled and limp. Usagi fought back a grin as she noticed the red highlights in the normally inky hair, her blue eyes flicking to Makoto's similarly green-tinted hair. Even Minako's and Ami's hair looked to be lighter shades; Minako's seemed more golden in the sunlight, even though it was limp and tired, and Ami's seemed to have a brighter cerulean tinge through the usually dark strands.

Usagi giggled and her friends shot her dark glares, but Rei snapped first, "What is it, Odango Atama? What's so funny?"

Usagi simply smiled, "Well, you all look like you had your hair dyed. Minako's is more golden, yours has those red highlights, Ami's is a brighter blue, and Mako-chan's is almost completely green! It looks so cute!"

Makoto self-consciously touched her green locks, where the auburn had been almost completely drowned out by emerald. If Usagi wasn't mistaken, this was a symptom of the speed of returning memories, and Makoto was remembering faster than her fellow Senshi, though not as fast as Usagi was remembering the experiences of Serenity's life on the Moon.

Rei glared at her Princess, "Well, I'm glad someone's getting enjoyment out of this. Because I assure you, I am not."

Usagi only smiled at her friend, speaking sagely, "Don't worry Rei, I'm sure everything will work out. Who knows, maybe its only temporary?"

Rei continued to glare, "Does this look temporary?" she half-shrieked, grabbing her hair and holding it out to Usagi, "Because it looks seriously permanent to me!"

The blonde examined her friend closely, and her eyes widened as she looked at Rei's face, "Rei, I don't mean to alarm you, but is that a hint of red in your eyes? I mean, in your irises, not the white part or…" Usagi trailed off, but her stammering still filled the air. The other three girls turned their heads to stare at the Senshi of Fire.

"I… I think she's right, Rei," Minako said in shock, "there's definitely some crimson in amongst the violet."

Ami pulled out her Mercury computer while Makoto, Usagi and Minako stared at Rei's eyes, which were rapidly opening wider as her friends surveyed her. "Guys, seriously, cut it out. You're worrying me."

Ami's voice came confidently and quietly after Rei's anxious words, "It isn't anything to worry about, Rei, this simply looks like it has something to do with your changing hair, which would mean it has to do with your memories returning. I would expect the same to occur with all of us, since it is already becoming evident with our hair."

"So there isn't anything we can do about this Ami-chan?" Usagi asked softly, "It'll just keep happening until we look like our former selves?"

The blue-haired girl nodded and the other girls looked even more shocked. They stared at her for a moment before Usagi sighed, "Guess we'll just have to learn to live with it then, eh girls? I mean, Rei looks amazing with that shade of hair, same with Mako-chan, and everyone's hair looks so shiny and pretty. Surely we can just get away with it the same was Ami-chan does?"

Her senshi nodded and Ami spoke, "That seems like the best option, well the only option really. But at least we're in Japan, no one will take that much notice… well, except for our families."

They were all silent for a few minutes as they processed this, before Usagi snapped them out of it by grabbing her chocolate milkshake with her left hand.

"Usagi-chan?! When did you get engaged?!" The four girls squeaked, looking gleefully at their leader, "When did Mamoru propose?!"

"Nani? What?" the Princess looked confused, before she glanced down at her finger, smiling softly, "Oh, that. About a thousand years ago, give or take a few weeks. Perfect, isn't it? I felt … like I was missing something, before. I feel complete with it one."

Normally, Usagi would have expected the girls to be jumping up and down screaming and squealing, but they were simply too exhausted from the dreams that haunted their sleep, and so they only managed a few half-hearted cries of happiness. "Ami-chan, Minako-chan, Rei-chan, Mako-chan, please, go home, get some rest. You look terrible!"

They smiled and nodded, eyelids half closed, and staggered out of the Arcade, leaving Usagi to happily sip her milkshake, pensively thinking 'Hm, I wonder what Mamo-chan is up to?'

* * *

Mamoru stared at his four Shitennou and sighed, he should have known it would be a mistake to take four grown men into a store with the latest models of cell phone. Especially when one of those men always had been, and mostly likely always would be, a technophile.

"Zoisite, please. Even with my inheritance I wouldn't have the money to buy you that phone. And you know it'll be obsolete in a week anyway," Mamoru sighed, attempting to pull the cell away from his blonde guard, whose fingers were wound tightly around the small gadget.

"I'll buy it for myself then," Zoisite half pouted, refusing to left go.

"Fine. And just so you know, you sounded like Jadeite just then." Mamoru smirked as the younger Shitennou's eyes opened wide in horror, releasing the phone instantly.

"I don't want it! Not if it makes me like that! Take it back!"

Mamoru and Kunzite shared a knowing smile as the two youngest Shitennou squabbled over who was, or rather was not, acting like who. The taller man sauntered over to his prince and muttered under his breath:  
"How did you know not to let go of the phone?"

"Kunzite, Kunzite," Mamoru admonished quietly, "Surely you must give me some credit for this. I am no fool, and I have a fair few more memories than I did a few days ago. Zoisite's biggest weakness, besides Ami, is his ego, or rather his intellectual ego. By comparing him to Jadeite who, while being an ingenious tactician, is no Zoisite, I suggested that he had the maturity and intelligence of a five year old. Simple, really, my dear Watson."

Kunzite gave him a confused look at the reference and Mamoru sighed, "Don't worry." The blonde shrugged and left his Prince's side, moving to break apart the squabble.

"Jadeite, Zoisite. Behave yourselves. Now, we are going to buy these four phones, at a discounted rate because we are buying in bulk, and Mamoru is going to… um, how did you say it Mamoru? Hook us up?... with his 'plan'."

Mamoru snorted, "Ah, the benefits of coming from an era long gone, and the only memories you have of the current time are contaminated by eeeevil," his final word was drawn out, spoken comically, and drew glares from his Shitennnou. "Okay, okay, not your fault I know. Raw wounds and all that. Anyway, lets buy this stuff and get going, I've got to meet Usako in an hour or so."

They all nodded and escaped the store quickly, paying for the cell phones before returning to the Shitennou's apartment, where Mamoru waited out the time before meeting Usagi. He was lucky to flee when he did, because even the luddite of the group, Kunzite, was fiddling with the features of his new communication device. Mamoru snorted at the thought, there the Senshi were with their high-tech devices, and the Shitennou were forced to depend upon ordinary forms of communication? How amusing.

The Prince smiled as he walked down the roads leading to his Princess, as hard as things were, with trying to hide the Shitennou from the Senshi, and with the new enemy, things finally felt right. He hadn't known how much he'd missed his Shitennou until they'd been returned to him.

He was amazed to find how quickly they had fallen into old routines, the Prince within him suggesting that Mamoru defect to Kunzite when it came to controlling the other Shitennou, the easy teasing that he had sorely missed. They felt like the best of friends, the closest of brothers, taking advantage of the bonds forged by long forgotten battles and days of attempting to avoid the King and Queen. His eyes lit up as he remembered the many pranks they had played on unsuspecting, and frankly annoying, courtiers. Those moments had made him feel like a normal boy, like one of the carefree middle classes, made him forget that he was expected to rule the world one day.

Mamoru sighed, but those days and their pressures were long gone, replaced by a new set. He wished they had awoken initially with their memories, instead of being forced to fumble around – how much more time he would have had with his Usako! He certainly didn't think it was fair to live in one lifetime with a pair of parents too busy to spend time with him, and then to live in the next with a dead set of parents. Surely he deserved… No. He must not think that way. He has Usagi and that is all he needs, he knows this.

And he has the Shitennou now, too, so what could possibly be wrong with the present?

But that thought in the back of his mind wouldn't go away – how was it fair?

* * *

Usagi sighed, staring into the clear water of the lake in the middle of the Juuban park, her mind filled with thoughts of her Senshi. They had looked so pale, so exhausted, with big purple-black marks underneath their eyes, which were themselves half closed. She was sorry to put them through this, but she knew that soon it would be over. Just three more days, well two and a half really, and they would be able to sleep again. Usagi knew the only reason they weren't sleeping was because the memories overwhelmed them without the Shitennou there to calm them, she had worked out as much from her night with Mamoru.

But now, now she was afraid to leave him for too long. She feared she would not be able to fall into the inky-calmness of sleep without his presence. She knew that would be okay though, and the blonde Princess knew her Prince probably felt the same way. Yes, she would sleep over at Mamoru's apartment that night, it would be best for the both of them.

Her senshi, however, her poor, tired senshi, would have to suffer a few more days. Usagi knew that this hardness was coming from the Princess – the original teenage Usagi never had the will to hurt her senshi like this. The personalities are bleeding into one another, but only one is truly affected, the one currently occupying a reborn body. Usagi. And it is Usagi who is finding little pieces of herself replaced with different ones, her klutz-attacks have changed slowly into constant poise, her overly-loud laughter and screaming exchanged with enunciated and intelligent words. She knows she is losing herself, but she can hardly bring herself to care – if she is losing all the parts which made her a bad leader, then surely it cannot be a bad thing?

She just hoped she wouldn't miss it all when it was truly gone.

Usagi glanced up from her meditation, having seen Mamoru coming towards her in the glassy water. She smiles as his strong arms wrap about her waist, and she remembers that it is the Princess that brought them together, that made him stop feeling like he was betraying someone by being with the ordinary girl. Usagi would give up almost anything to be with Mamoru, and if the sacrifice is the remnants of her childhood, she will gladly give them.

* * *

Usagi doesn't know what her Senshi are doing but, if she wasn't otherwise occupied, she would be able to guess.

Minako lies on her bed with her blue eyes, once pure cerulean and identical to Usagi's, now flecked with gold, trained upon the many cracks in the paint on her ceiling. In the dark, she can barely see them, but she knows they are there. She has flicked the lights on too many times to count, sometimes picking up the latest edition of one of her favourite manga's, other times just so the dark doesn't torment her any more. She was never afraid of the dark before this week, but when it stretches out in front of her, oppressive and unflinching, Minako feels the fear welling up inside of her.

She cannot close her eyes. If she closes her eyes, she will see him, feel him, remember everything about him. And if there is one thing she cannot bear, it is to know how much she loved him, and to also know that she was instrumental in his death. But she cannot resist the dreams forever, and the memories beg to be let in – she is not strong enough to withstand their constant pressure. Minako's eyes close, and she dreams once more. But she finds no respite in sleep.

* * *

Ami sits at her desk in her mother's apartment, her left hand propping her tired head up while her right hand rubs at her red and sore eyes. The Mercury Computer is open before her and torments her with its conclusion. She has put every bit of data she can think of into the database and still there is no conclusive result.

There is no reason why she should not be able to sleep. No excuse that can be explained away by science. This is truly no surprise though, the nature of the dreams which prevent her from sleeping suggest that this has a supernatural cause, but she is too tired to even factor that into her calculations. It's just too complicated and she's so tired… her left arm folds to cradle her head against the desk, quickly joined by its counterpart, and the blue-haired girl falls asleep, welcomed back to dreamland by the tormenting nightmares which are more horrifying, simply because they are real.

* * *

Rei kneels before the Great Fire, her lips moving swiftly and softly in the ancient prayers, begging for an answer, for a solution, to her dilemma. Her violet eyes look deeply into the crackling crimson fire, and for a moment they take on the ever shifting hues of the flames, but their owner blinks and only a few flecks of red remain to colour her irises.

"Please, Great Fire, please. All I ask is for sleep without these awful dreams. Just one night so that I might further understand…" the priestess begs, she knows this is important, but she also knows that these memories have been sent for a reason, and that even the Great Fire cannot interfere with those higher powers. Her eyes tear themselves away from the fire in defeat, training on the highly polished floorboards instead as her mind races frantically for another deity, someone higher than Kami.

"Mars…" Rei breathes, and knows she has hit upon the right answer. Mars was, is, her patron. It comes with being the Sailor Senshi of Mars, "My Lord of War, please, grant me this one boon. I have been, and shall continue to be, your humble servant. Please Lord Mars, help me."

Her violet eyes close suddenly, and the Priestess is drawn into sleep. She feels victory for a single moment as the blackness envelops her, but then an image wells up before her eyes and she is captured once more by memory.

* * *

Makoto stands with her hands firmly on her hips, glaring into the empty cupboards. She had been intending to bake some cornflake cookies for her friends, maybe even a chocolate cake, but her many sleepless nights leading up this one had also been filled with baking. Thus, the cupboards were bare. Even the baking soda, which was always the last thing to run out, was gone. She frowned, knowing she could just go and curl up in bed and pray for sleep, but she knew it would also do no good.

The brunette sighed and closed the cupboard doors, looking up at the clock on the wall as she grabbed her wallet and house-keys. Eleven-thirty, well that was plenty of time to go to the supermarket and pick up a few ingredients. Makoto nodded decisively, that was what she would do, just run down to the local store and grab enough self-raising flour, baking soda, sugar, eggs, chocolate, milk and butter to bake herself into a frenzy and prolong her inability to sleep.

Smiling, the Senshi of Jupiter enjoyed the fresh night air and the quiet streets, since everyone with half a body clock was already in bed and asleep, especially since it was a Wednesday night. The supermarket wasn't far and Makoto hummed as she entered the store, its neon-lights washing her skin out to a pale imitation of its normal colour. She pulled a trolley from the holding area, shoved her wallet and keys onto the children's seat, and began searching the isles for her ingredients, ignoring the glares from the staff still present.

She turned the corner into the baking goods aisle and pushed the trolley past a tall man with long dark hair, restrained by a small elastic. Her eyes did not linger on him but on the shelves, and it was only when she was halfway down the aisle that she realised she needed some of the goods that were in front of him. Sighing, she pushed her trolley back to where he was standing, and brushed past him gently to pick up the chocolate chips.

Startled brown eyes met her green ones as she accidentally touched his arm, and Makoto felt herself gasp in shock, dropping the chocolate chips, which fell to the ground and burst open. One of her freed hands reached out to touch him, and her eyes widened further as she made certain he was truly there.

"Nephrite." The brunette breathed in disbelief, continuing to stare at the man she was certain had been killed a long time ago.

The man smiled wryly, his rich voice caressing her name in the way it always had, striking a chord deep within her, "Makoto."

* * *

Hey everyone!

Well looky here, I'm back. So, there you have it. The first pair have met. This is where the truly fun part begins. If you're curious, we're at midnight of the beginning of Day 5, so there are 2 more days to go until the Senshi are officially meant to meet their Shittenou. Those two days will probably take up two chapters too, since we get to deal with Mako/Neph for most of day 5, then some extra fun events for day 6.

Now, I have a problem. I was going to go on and do a second arc to the story, after Ail/An are defeated, but i'm not sure I need to do anything past an epilogue. Now, if I get enough response for this chapter, I'll consider it, but be warned the chapters past the original planned epilogue would probably pretty much be WAFF. Tell me what you think, okay? Because I will go on if that's what everyone wants. and if I can come up with a decent plot for the second half :)

Have a good day everyone,

Hugs,  
Goddess Usagi

(come join me at www(dot)destinysgateway(dot)com)


	8. Chapter 8

* * *

**Chapter Eight**

* * *

After at least seven hours of self-depreciating sighs and unhappy moaning about their betrayal, Nephrite had finally grown sick of the depressed looks on the faces of his comrades and friends. He had stormed into the kitchen, intending to make dinner and to get away from those cynical idiots, when he had discovered the cupboards were already bare, after only four days of living in the apartment. Sighing, the brunette picked up the jar labelled "Grocery Monies" (another of Jadeite's attempts to be funny, which failed miserably when Zoisite told him that 'monies' was an actual word), emptied it into his wallet, grabbed his new cell phone, and walked to the door. 

"I'm going shopping for food," Nephrite announced to the depressed group, ignoring their groans once again, continuing with a sarcastic tone, "Don't worry, you don't have to come. I'll just see if I can transport all the food home myself, and if I can't, you're coming to help me."

There was another collective groan and Nephrite opened the door, slamming it shut behind him, grumbling as he left the building.

"Ingrates."

The supermarket was far enough away that, on his walk, Nephrite was able to calm down and put the depression of his friends into perspective. It wasn't that he didn't understand how they felt, in fact he was certain he knew exactly how they felt, it was just that he was the only one who believed Mamoru's words – they really were not responsible for their actions under such control. He had at least thought Zoisite, the most intelligent of the four, would be able to work this out, but even he was condemning himself.

Nephrite sighed, he knew his friends too well, so it was impossible to believe that they would get over this quickly. They would hold out until they had proof that it was not their fault, that their girls still loved them, regardless of past misdemeanours. And until then? He just had to put up with the moaning, as much as it sucked.

He entered the grocery store and felt relieved, somewhat, that no matter how many millennia he had existed, some things almost always stayed the same. It was bizarre, really. One of them was the desire humans had to put all their food needs in just one place; a thousand years ago it had been markets, set out in a remarkably similar way to the modern version. But it was comforting all the same.

Grabbing a trolley, the second youngest Shitennou (who was embarrassed to think that even Zoisite outranked him, so usually he didn't even consider it as a passing fancy) walked mindlessly through the aisles, pulling items from the shelves and hoping he had enough money to cover the amount of food that four training Shitennou would need (thankfully, Kunzite had cancelled their practices that day).

Nephrite turned into the fourth aisle, the baking goods aisle, and pushed the trolley down to the premix cake section. Quickly deciding that the best cakes were always handmade, and did not come from packages, he moved down to the baking soda, food colourings, and other assorted baking goods section, staring up at the daunting shelves.) He honestly couldn't remember the last time he had baked. Actually, that was a lie. But it had been millennia ago. Makoto had forced him into the kitchen saying, in a joking tone, that it was finally time he learned how to cook her favourite foods. One of them was the infamous Jovan Triple-Choc Mud Cake, which had been known to cause one to become fully satiated after only one bite, but only if made correctly.

Such a chocolate cake could, therefore, feed an army (or a small starving nation) for several days, and as such it was of vital importance that Nephrite learn to make it. The cake was also Makoto's favourite when she had cravings around 'that time of the month', and who was he to deny her anything she wanted? (Especially since she could fry him with one angry bolt of lightening.)

Making the cake had, of course, been a disaster. Nephrite didn't have Makoto's skill in the kitchen, nor her voracious appetite (he never did understand how she could eat so much junk food and still maintain that figure he loved), nor did he share her love of the cake, thus the entire experience was doomed from the minute he opened the tin of flour.

So he stood, staring at the cocoa powder, trying to decide whether he would brave the infamous Jovan cake once more (there were two conflicting sides to his internal argument: 1. it was very hard to bake, and 2. it would feed the other men for at least two whole days). He heard the squeak of another trolley entering his aisle, but chose to ignore it, assuming it was just another person who had discovered their pantry was bare.

However, he couldn't ignore them when the newcomer reached over his shoulder to pick up a packet of chocolate chips, her arm brushing his on the way past. Nephrite turned to look at her, meeting her green eyes with his own in shock.

The semi-emerald haired woman gasped and dropped her packet of chocolate chips, which burst open and scattered throughout the aisle, but Nephrite noticed none of this, he was too shocked by her presence. Her hands freed from the burden of the packaging, the brunette reached one hand to touch him, trying to see if he was really there.

Her brilliant green eyes widened further as she proved he was really there, and the voice he had missed for so long spoke in a reverent and shocked whisper.

"Nephrite."

He smiled crookedly, as though he knew he had done something very wrong and was trying to get out of it by acting coy, speaking her name softly, lovingly, the way he had spoken it a thousand years ago, so full of every emotion imaginable.

"Makoto."

They stared at each other for a long minute, drinking in the face of the other half of their soul that they had so sorely missed. Nephrite realised he had forgotten so many tiny details, the small crinkle in her forehead when she was confused, the fullness of her lips, the way her long auburn and green hair flowed out of its ponytail and onto her back. The way the tendrils of hair caressed her face, often getting in her eyes. The way her eyes looked when she was confused – half open, as though she was trying to work something out.

Then something shifted in those familiar eyes; they narrowed slightly and Nephrite should have known what was coming next. Then suddenly, the brunette Shitennou was lying on the vinyl floor, staring up into bright halogen lights with an incredibly sore left eye and cheek.

Sitting up, he stared into those same eyes with a hurt expression, his left hand gingerly touching his injured face.

"Ow," he said in a tone remarkably similar to Jadeite after Rei socked him one, a tone filled with playful hurt and shock, "Really, Mako-chan, was that really necessary? If I was going to hurt you, that is if I was still an evil Dark Kingdom General, surely I would have found you somewhere else, and I wouldn't have let you hit me. Not to mention, I would have found you, not the other way around!"

She blinked down at him, her head tilting to the right slightly in disbelief, her forehead crinkled by a confused frown.

"Are you the real Nephrite, then?" Makoto questioned softly, unable to reconcile his ordinary appearance in such a normal place as a supermarket.

He nodded eagerly, pushing himself up off the floor and standing before her, towering above her but only slightly. "That's what I'm trying to say. I'm not evil. Well, not anymore at least. You see, we were brainwashed, the other three and I, by Metallia. But… well, someone decided to give us another chance. So, here I am."

So, she did the only thing she could really do in that situation, and struck him again, this time on the other cheek.

Staring up at her again, Nephrite looked even more confused, "Okay, now this is starting to feel like déjà vu, what did I do now?! I told you, I'm not evil!"

Makoto smirked down at him, "That was for leaving me for a millennium! And I haven't even gotten to the part where I kick your butt for killing me! You are in soooo much trouble, mister! Especially if you think I'm just going to fall into your arms like some weak little romantic, no way is that going to happen."

Nephrite did his best to hide his smile, but failed miserably, bursting out laughing in happiness, "That's my girl!" he crowed, grinning up at her even with his sore jaw, "How I've missed you, my Thorny Rose!"

He stood up again and folded her into his arms, an action which she resisted strongly for almost a minute before relaxing. He was just strong enough to hold her there until she gave in, resting her head against his chest with silent tears running down her face. He hadn't expected her to give in so quickly, but it seemed she was much lonelier in this lifetime than she had ever been in the Silver Millennium.

"Oh, Mako-chan," he spoke softly, rubbing her back gently in circular motions, repeating his last words, "How I've missed you…"

She didn't reply, she just beat one fist against his chest over and over again when her tears subsided. He just held her, refusing to show a minute of weakness, knowing she would take it as proof that he didn't love her enough. So she hit him, again and again, until she was half-exhausted, and even then she seemed unable to relax.

"How about we go back to your place and talk about this?" Nephrite suggested quietly, "I think the staff want to close the store and we're keeping them from their beds."

Makoto nodded silently, pulling herself from his embrace, seemingly unable to talk. Nephrite understood, she had been much the same way when her parents were killed in the destruction of Jupiter by the Dark Kingdom – silent, hiding her pain and anger behind a mask of indifference. Only the deepest torment could induce her to this state.

He hated himself for being the cause of that.

So, he took her hand, never minding that she did not offer it, and allowed her lead him to her apartment. To be honest, he was amazed by her pliancy. It was so far out of her normal character that he knew that his reappearance had fazed her more than he could have predicted.

It didn't take them long to reach her apartment, as both of them were eager to find a place where they could talk properly. And by talk, Nephrite knew it would mean him acting as a punching bag for her frustration and anger. But he also knew he deserved it. Betraying her like that, it was almost unforgivable. His only redemption was in the knowledge that it had not been him performing those evil deeds. But that was one measly piece of information, and how could it help him when the evil persona wore his face and made use of his weaknesses?

He feared she would always associate her death in the Moon Kingdom with him, no matter who it had really been that had callously stabbed his sword into her delicate flesh.

He sighed, but had no more time for these terrifying thoughts. He had not realised they were so close to her home, and he had spent the entire elevator ride up to her apartment caught by his thoughts. They now stood before her door, hands still intertwined, fully aware that the minute they crossed the threshold everything would change.

Nephrite stared down into her green eyes, which were clouded by uncertainty; they questioned him too, wondering whether this could possibly be a good idea. He nodded awkwardly, a gesture so lacking in his usual grace that it immediately put Makoto ill at ease. She bit her lip, pulled her keys clumsily from her pocket, and inserted them into the various locks, letting the door swing open.

Makoto refused to look up at him again. Instead she took the initiative and pulled him into her apartment without a word, shutting the door firmly behind them.

* * *

Three girls still fought against sleep, deathly afraid of more heartbreaking dreams. They immersed themselves in chosen subject areas, pleading for someone, anyone, to subdue the undeniable envy they feel for their former selves. 

Rei continued to pray to the Great Fire, begging for a sleep rid of nightmares. She was exhausted and she knew, sooner or later, that she would have to submit to the torturous memories, but until she came to that point… well, she was a Senshi. She'd cross that damned bridge when she came to it.

Ami refused to go anywhere without her Mercury Computer, using it to analyse brain waves and what they knew about the Silver Millennium in order to attempt to discover a way to block the memories. It had been almost thirty-six hours she had spent working on one train of thought, and still nothing. It was as though she was doomed to relive every single agonisingly beautiful moment. Torture. Pure torture. An unwavering reminder of everything she had lost to Beryl.

And Minako? She spent her night scouting. She didn't really know what she was scouting for, but the blonde felt compelled to do something, anything. They didn't have enough information on these new enemies to really hunt for them, so eventually, her Senshi-paced hunting became running, and the running slowly drifted into a fast paced walk, which turned into a stroll as she entered Juuban Park and discovered it empty, utterly empty. She had known it would be deserted, of course that was inevitable – it was almost four o'clock in the morning – but it was so beautiful at night. The moonlight reflected off the still lake and threw the gnarled trees into sharp relief.

If she hadn't been a Senshi, the sometimes-Venus would have frightened out of her mind. But almost a year of fighting alone in England had changed how she viewed the world. While that world still saw bright, bubbly, vivacious Minako, in reality… well she was a lot harder and warriorlike than anyone could imagine.

A few hours passed, and Minako felt sorry to leave, but she also knew she had no choice. Sunrise wasn't far off, and her bed definitely needed to look like its been properly slept in. That meant at least an hour of tossing and turning in her bed in her favourite orange pyjamas on, hair pulled back into a ponytail. She knew she was obligated to show up to the breakfast table looking suitably ruffled – hair falling out of the ponytail in ratty waves, crumpled pyjamas, tired look on her face, and a well-rumpled bed - and that meant she had to leave now. So she sighed and turned back around, heading for the closest gate.

Just as she was about to pass through the park gates, Minako felt a presence. Not a threatening presence. No. But it was definitely familiar.

But she can't, however, for the life of her work out who it was. All she knew was that it was a man. Beyond that, his identity was anyone's guess.

* * *

Usagi's eyes opened slowly and blearily to the early morning sunshine, a feeling of warmth imbuing her entire being. It took her a minute to work out why she felt so comfortable, so satisfied. Mamoru's strong arm was around her waist, and she knew instantly that he was the source of her contentment. In fact, she knew he was the reason why she had been able to sleep so fully and properly for what felt like the first time in a lifetime. 

She smiled and stretched slightly, turning over to face Mamoru who, she found, was already awake.

"Morning, Usako."

"Mmm, good morning, Mamo-chan."

His eyes were bright, happy and most importantly satisfied, filled by a deep-seated contentment which could only be caused by a full night's sleep. Their perfectly innocent night spent sleeping together (a phrase Usagi knew would be misconstrued by her friends if she ever told them) had given Usagi proof for her theory – the Senshi or the Shitennou could not be comfortable, could not live happily, without their other half.

Usagi felt sad for her sister-friends, knowing that the road ahead of them was not going to be simple. She could already feel their pain, even though they didn't even know what it truly meant, not yet. She felt awful for hiding it from them, but Usagi knew it was the only way to let destiny run its proper course – she could not intervene. They must wait, not knowing what they were waiting for, and remember things that they never desired to remember. All in the name of true love.

The silver-haired girl buried her head in Mamoru's clothed chest, letting him wrap his arms around her small waist and comfort her. She fought back tears, knowing the memories that were now flooding back to her girls, the mix of beauty and pain, of love and sadness, of caring too much and of trying to forget. Mamoru's strong arms helped to relieve the pain, the rhythmic pattern of his hands rubbing against her back soothed her and reminded her of why she was doing this, so they could have what she had.

Her voice was soft when she spoke again, "I just wish I didn't have to put them through this," she said, blue eyes staring up at him.

"I know, Usako, but we want them to have this," his words caused her to smile, they were so well connected that they often shared similar thoughts.

"Love you, Mamo-chan."

"I love you too, Usako."

* * *

Zoisite sat at his desk in the living room, with a large state-of-the-art computer before him, the television blaring behind him. He had spent the last three hours researching the Sailor Senshi. It was bordering on obsession, but he was desperate to see the face of his Mercurian Princess, and if this was the only way he could get it for the next two days, then so be it. 

Thankfully, it wasn't even two days any more. More like one and a half days.

Okay, one day, seventeen hours, forty-three minutes. But really, who was counting? Certainly not the blonde haired General.

Unfortunately, the photographs on the internet were not of a very good quality. They were mostly blurred, almost never clear, and usually had a strange glow to them that obscured the faces of Tokyo's superheroines. But, he did find that by using a program called Photoshop, he could remove the blurring and see their faces clearly. It had taken him quite a while to figure that out, however, so by then it was really very late at night, and Zoicite's eyes were feeling a little sore and tired.

Jadeite sat on the couch behind him, Kunzite staring off into space in a recliner chair beside the couch. The television was loud, proclaiming a special deal for any one who visited this particular car dealership within the next seven days. Zoisite groaned and begged Jadeite to at least mute the ads, but the other general was too engrossed in his depression.

Zoisite honestly suspected the melancholy was catching. He himself had been fine for a few hours, but now he felt the darkness creeping back over his soul, reminding him that it was a large possibility that Ami would refuse to reignite their relationship. He could think of nothing so terrifying as losing Ami, once and for all.

Sighing, he turned off the computer and joined Jadeite on the couch, letting his mind be numbed by the soporific effect the television seemed to give off. If he wasn't thinking, then he wasn't thinking of Ami. And maybe that would make the next two days easier to handle.

* * *

Kunzite sighed. If he was going to talk to himself honestly, he was even sick of this self-pitying thing the three of them had going on. But it wasn't often that the leader of the Shitennou spoke to himself honestly when it came to personal matters. When it came to battle, of course, he was as honest and open as a pilot when his plane was going down. But when it came to emotions? He was a bigger liar than a politician. 

The atmosphere in their living room was stifling, especially for a warrior who was used to spending most of his time outside, training. The four had spent the last two afternoons training outside Tokyo, using their powers to transport them to a secluded mountainside away from prying eyes, where they could use their abilities without fear of discovery. He'd been working his men hard, trying to make up for so much lost time. He had to make sure that they would be prepared to help the Senshi fight against this new enemy, and right now they weren't even halfway back to their prime.

It was just so frustrating, being so far behind with a new and strong enemy at their backs. Kunzite sighed and pushed himself out of his leather recliner chair, unable to handle another moment of staring at the boring cream wall. If he hadn't been a military man, Kunzite would have probably done something to make the place homier, but when it came down to it he really didn't have the time. Or the patience.

Well, not for such frivolous things anyway.

He would go for a walk, the leader decided, silently striding from the apartment, his exit barely noticed by the two heartsore men who also happened to be his colleagues. On any other day, at any other time, they would have been worried. Well, maybe not worried. Kunzite was their leader after all, the strong silent type who often disappeared for hours. But curious. Definitely curious.

But that was any other time, and not now. Now they hardly noticed, and quickly resumed their melancholy with hardly a sideways thought about their friend.

The blonde exited the apartment building, escaping to late night Tokyo where the streets were mostly empty and the people generally asleep. The crisp night air was welcoming, forgiving, allowing him to consider all those thoughts that seemed incomprehensible in the stuffy apartment. On tonight's theme of honesty, the night air allowed him to feel hope where indoors allowed him none.

The apartment served only to stifle hope, forcing him to concentrate on the millions of possible outcomes where Venus denied him and their love. He was unused to this crippling uncertainty, the fear that in this life she would not love him back. Their meeting in the Silver Millennium had been vibrant, passionate, a clashing of two entities destined to be together. She had crashed into him on her way to a Senshi meeting, running late because she had been held up by the Captain of the Palace Guard, who had been intent on questioning her about her forced changes to the guarding schedule for the Princess. They had both fallen to the floor in a tangle of limbs, which intertwined even as they were moved with the intention to pull apart. She had laughed and he had been transfixed instantly, a strange feeling for one who was usually so detached from the more enjoyable facets of life.

The Princess of Venus had apologised, begged his forgiveness with wide golden eyes, offered to make it up to him, then kissed his lips as she pulled him up from the polished marble floor. He had been charmed and shocked at her impropriety, at least until he discovered Venus' remarkable gift for matchmaking, given to her by her heritage. She had known he was her soulmate, and she had known that there was nothing she could do that would damage their bond. So she had been forward, vivacious, and she had captured his heart in an instant.

In the apartment, he was afraid she did not love him any more, that she did not need him like he needed her. In the apartment, it was hard to even think of how much he loved her, how every moment with her seemed like the fulfilment of a lifetime's worth of goals.

But in the open air, with no one around, it was easier to give in to hope, to desire, to imagine that she would run and jump into his arms when next she saw him. To imagine that she would beg him never to leave her alone again and thus reassure his heart with one string of words. Out here, he knew that they loved each other equally, as only soulmates could, he knew that she would always forgive him, after a time.

In the dead of the night, in the middle of Juuban Park, he felt freer than he had in millennia, just knowing that she would forgive him, someday.

Lost in his thoughts, Kunzite continued to walk away his anxieties. But if he had turned around and looked behind him, for just that one instant as he pondered hope, he would have seen the object of his desire.

And seeing her would have probably made things a heck of a lot easier. But when it came to Venus and Kunzite, nothing was ever simple.

* * *

Hey everyone! 

Surprised to see me? I know I am. I know I promised this almost 3 weeks ago, before Christmas when I was editing Hentai Tedencies (which I hope to get finished this week, or next week), and I'm really sorry. Life just.. totally interfered (my puppies got really sick. We honestly thought we were going to lose the youngest one, so you'll forgive me for not writing, won't you?). So, I really am sorry. There are about.. 4 more chapters, maybe 5, left of this story, so I hope you continue to enjoy.

Oh, and a giant, massive thank you to Bunniko, who helped me edit this chapter to make it the best it could possibly be. Thanks Buns!

Have a good day everyone,

Hugs,  
Goddess Usagi

(come join me at www(dot)destinysgateway(dot)com)


	9. Chapter 9

* * *

**Chapter Nine**

* * *

Nephrite sat up, rubbing his eyes sleepily as he surveyed the unfamiliar apartment through half closed lids. It was mostly neat and tidy, but it was also filled with homey touches. The lingering smell of baked cookies, a bunch of flowers on a sideboard in the hallway, the comfortable blue fabric couch (upon which he had fallen asleep upon a few… hours… ago. Wait, no. A day ago.). 

He looked at the clock, but he could hardly discern the numbers - surely that didn't say 5am? He'd fallen asleep with Makoto? He felt a small thrill of panic; Kunzite was going to kill him. Nephrite sat bolt upright, trying not to dislodge Makoto in the process, he had a very bad feeling that they had slept too long for it to have been only 5 hours sleep. In fact, it felt more like…

"Oh no," the brunette Shitennou whispered, groaning, "it hasn't been… surely we didn't sleep for… oh no, we did. We slept for over a day."

He frowned, trying to work out exactly what had happened. He had met Makoto at 12am on day five of their forced separation (well, his forced separation, considering she didn't know he existed until then), and they had argued until 2am that day, so it must be 5am of day six now! The brunette Shitennou groaned again, he was in so much trouble. They had lost an entire day just sleeping! He'd never felt so lazy, but at the same time he was so well rested now, like being with Makoto had soothed the nightmares he had been suffering from this last week.

It seemed his presence had had a similar effect upon Makoto. The last time he had checked on her, almost three days ago, she had been sleeping poorly, tormented by memories of their past. But now she was peaceful, resting happily, and for that he was glad. Honestly, he felt whole in her presence, no matter how badly she had chewed him out the day before.

It would be an understatement to say Makoto had been angry. She had been livid, furious, enraged, incensed, outraged, hurt, and any combination of adjectives which described exactly how much bodily harm she had wanted to do to him. He had honestly thought she would kill him at one point, not with any physical weapon but with anger alone. Well, there was always the threat of her Jupiter Thunder Crash, too.

Nephrite was certain she had yelled for almost two hours straight, not caring that she was probably keeping half of Tokyo awake with her piercing words. If they had been back in the Silver Millennium, Nephrite would have accused her of acting like Minako when Kunzite had so much as looked at another girl. But if he had said that to her now, well, he would have expected to have been thrown off the balcony of her very tall apartment building. So, it was much safer to stay quiet and take the abuse she hurled at him.

Ah, if only abuse had been the least of things she had hurled at him. He would have been lucky if that had been the extent of his punishment, but Jupiter had always been known for her creative retributions. He was truly surprised to find the apartment clean again, and all her possessions whole and undamaged – Nephrite was certain she had destroyed a couple of plates (thrown Moon Frisbee style) and a few of her least favourite cooking pans when she had aimed them at his head. But he saw no evidence of them anywhere. Strange. He had a perfect recollection of her throwing them after he had tried to calm her down, stupidly suggesting that they leave the argument until a more decent hour. The pans would have hit their target too, had he not been gifted with lightning-fast reflexes.

Perhaps Makoto had woken up before him to clean up, but that didn't seem likely considering she was still fast asleep beside him. Maybe she had managed to stay awake for a few minutes longer than he had, long enough to clean up. He did seem to remember her taking a minute to join him on the couch, albeit fuzzily, so maybe that was the explanation. Makoto had always been anal-retentive about the cleanliness of her living space.

She had grown tired of yelling around 2am, after exhausting her vocabulary, her body, and her mind. Nephrite had been surprised she had lasted so long, and it made him realise just how angry at him she was. The screaming and the throwing things was normal, but holding her ground for two hours? Even as stubborn as Makoto was, that was really pushing the limits of her stamina, Senshi or not.

Nephrite had sat down on the couch around 1:30am, tired from trying to avoid her fists and from nights of restless sleep. She had stopped physically attacking him by then, choosing instead to use words which seemed to cut more deeply the more tired he became. But he knew he deserved every single bit of pain. And he knew that she would not be able to forgive him until she got it all off her chest. So he endured it.

For that final half hour, Nephrite had stared up at her, drinking in all the abuse until she grew tired and pulled a blanket off her bed, dropping it onto the couch next to him. It was then that she must have cleaned up the broken plates and pans, putting her apartment back in order before sitting down next to him and curling into the space under his left arm.

He had relaxed against the back of the couch, placing his arm around Makoto, whispered that he loved her, and had finally fallen into a peaceful sleep. What he missed were the tears running down his love's face, and the words she had spoken after he had fallen asleep.

"Don't you dare ever leave me again, you hear me, Nephrite? Because I don't think I could handle it. I love you too much," Makoto had whispered, before snuggling into her Shitennou's chest and falling asleep.

Now they were in this predicament, twenty-seven hours later, and Nephrite made the decision to wake Makoto, knowing she was probably in as much trouble as he was, having failed to check in with her fellow Senshi the day before. In fact, it was likely the Senshi were at the door right now, about to burst in and demand to know why Makoto had not spoken to them in a day and a half.

Nephrite gulped, if they showed up and Makoto wasn't awake to protect him, well, it would be safe to say his arse would be either burnt to a crisp, frozen and frostbitten, or blasted off by love-hearts. Usagi might try to save him, but Mars was well known for her hasty actions when she perceived her friend was in danger, and Mercury and Venus wouldn't be far behind.

"Makoto, please, darling, I need you to wake up and call your friends before they come over here and kill me, and you wouldn't want that, now would you?" Nephrite spoke desperately, shaking her slightly in the hope it would wake her up faster. But Makoto's only response was to murmur something incomprehensible and snuggle further into his chest, wrapping her arms about his waist and resting her head on his shoulder.

"Love, please, I promise there will be many more nights for this, if only you just wake up and make sure they don't kill me." He sighed in relief as Makoto's eyes opened blearily, her sweet pink lips curving up into a smile as she recognised him.

"Mmm, Nephrite. G'morning, my love," her words were mumbled and quietened by sleep and comfort. "What time is it?"

"It's 5:15am, and you need to get up for a minute."

"What, why?" Her green eyes looked so childlike and confused that Nephrite couldn't help but smile. Jupiter had always been at her most vulnerable and adorable just after she awoke.

"So that your friends don't come over here and kill me. We've been asleep for over a day, my lovely rose, and I know as well as you do that they'll be getting worried."

Makoto's eyes widened in horror, "Oh no! They really will kill you, and I would really prefer you didn't end up blasted into a million pieces. Just give me a minute, okay?"

The emerald-haired female sighed and pushed herself out of Nephrite's warm and comfortable embrace, standing up unsurely as her head spun, momentarily unbalancing her. She walked over to the phone, which was sitting on a beautiful wooden sideboard with carved roses decorating the legs, but did not pick up the receiver. Instead, she grabbed the small pink device sitting next to it.

Pressing a small button near the bottom of it, Makoto called all four of her friends at once, telling them swiftly that she was fine, not to worry, and she would see them all that afternoon for the Senshi meeting.

Thankfully, due to the early hour, none of her fellow Senshi were in the mood to argue, and took her words at face value. She smiled at her friends, reassured them she was fine, made a slight quip about their new hair colours, and hung up, grinning at Nephrite.

"What say we have some of my famous choc-chip pancakes?" Her grin was wicked, and he couldn't help but be entranced. Nephrite stood and walked towards her, smiling happily for what felt like the first time in forever.

"I'm up for that," he said slowly, wondering what the catch was.

"Good, then you go buy the ingredients while I clean up the mess I left in here last night."

Nephrite swore as he realised he had played straight into her hands, "Damn it woman, I knew there was a catch!"

"That's why you love me," she said in a singsong voice, her vivid green eyes shining as she teased him, placing all the broken items into a big garbage bag for him to leave in the dumpster in the alleyway beside the building.

Nephrite grinned at her as he took the bag from her, kissing her on the cheek and stroking her emerald hair, "You're right, of course. Oh, and I'm glad that you've gone back to your original colour, I missed it, love."

Makoto blushed and twirled a strand of hair around her finger, admiring the colour which had been auburn only a few days ago and was now wholly a rich emerald green. She hadn't had a chance to look in the mirror yet today, but she would have bet her eyes were a brighter and more noticeable shade of green too, probably a colour not naturally found as an eye colour. She sighed and realised the kitchen was still a mess, so she turned around and began cleaning up, happy in the knowledge that she had her love and her memories back.

Carrying the broken items out of the apartment, Nephrite let a small smirk colour his features – so, she hadn't cleaned up yesterday after all, instead she had just placed it all in one central area and left it til later. It seemed he was finally having a good effect on her, even after a thousand years of unchanging stubbornness.

The brunette Shitennou was whistling as he rode the lift to the ground floor. She loved him. She really really loved him.

* * *

Minako Aino had returned home from her walk around 4am feeling more soothed and tired than she had before leaving, which was, of course, the entire point of her scouting exercise. Changing into her pyjamas, the blonde walked over to her bed and snuggled in amongst the covers, closing her glorious cerulean blue and gold eyes and, instantly, she fell asleep. That was a gift of her past heritage, one which Usagi shared since the Houses of Serenity and of Venus often intermarried, the ability to fall asleep at will, any where, any time. 

Kunzite arrived back at the apartment around 3.50am, having the advantage of living closer to Juuban Park than Minako. He unlocked the front door, finding the living room empty, which was strange considering how tense Jadeite and Zoicite had been only a few hours ago. The tall blonde man shrugged off the slight uneasy feeling that dark and empty room had given him, knowing fully well if there was something truly wrong he would have felt something more akin to panic than unease. He didn't bother flicking on the light switches, and found his room quickly, locking the door behind him in case Jadeite decided to play another one of his pranks. Kunzite pulled off his simple white shirt, revealing well-sculpted muscles to the unfortunately empty room, undid his grey pants, and climbed into bed wearing only his boxers.

If Minako had been there, she would have made a quip about how she now knew that he was a boxers man, rather than a briefs man, before jumping into bed next to him and exhausting him further with delightful activities. But the bed beside him was cold and empty, and Kunzite could feel the absence of the vivacious, bubbly blonde he loved so much. He sighed and closed his eyes, fighting sleep for a few moments until it finally overcame him, drowning him in memories he had been forced to forget.

As their physical eyes shut, both Minako's and Kunzite's dream-eyes opened to a half familiar scene: yet another memory from the days of the Moon Kingdom.

It was an overcast day, an oddity for the Moon considering that the weather mirrored the emotions of the Queen, and Queen Serenity was very good at controlling her feelings so that they always had blue-sky, sunny days. Minako was in her bedchambers, wearing only her orange dressing robe, waiting anxiously for Kunzite's arrival. He had promised to meet her at the third hour past midday, and assured her that he would not be seen sneaking into her rooms. The Princess of Venus shivered in anticipation – she had arranged the evening off, it was Mars' and Mercury's turn to guard the Princess, to coincide with the arrival of the Shitennou from Earth. She had not meant to deny her sisters their chance to reconcile with their lovers, but fortunately it had not worked out that way at all – it was also Jadeite and Zoicite's turn to protect Endymion, so all six could spend time together and have their private reunions later that evening, after Endymion and Serenity were in bed and being protected by Palace Guards.

There was a knock at one of her windows and Minako grinned happily, bouncing over to unlatch it and allow Kunzite access to her chambers. He had chosen a window which led to her bedroom, and she smirked wickedly at him as he entered the room.

He welcomed her with a passionate kiss, drawing her body flush up against his so that she could feel every single deliciously strong muscle through the thin silk of her gown. His arms gripped her back tightly, holding her so forcefully that she felt like she was not supporting her own weight at all. Of course, this was part of Kunzite's plan, for he deepened the kiss, invading her mouth with his tongue in a sensual manner. Minako gasped and reciprocated, thanking Venus that she had locked the door before letting him in.

He broke away suddenly, allowing her a chance to breathe, "Missed me?" he asked lasciviously, lifting her up and placing her on the edge of her bed, causing her to shiver once more. How was it possible that he grew ever more handsome with each visit? Minako didn't know, nor did she care.

"You know I did, love," she murmured, momentarily distracted as he sat on the bed beside her, pulling her into his arms once more and kissing her neck. Really, half the things he did ought to be illegal – they caused a girl to become near nonsensical with lust. Her blue eyes glazed over as his hands wandered all over her body, desperately attempting to touch every square inch that had been neglected for much too long.

Kunzite undid the hastily knotted tie of her robe, only to discover she wore nothing underneath. "Well, well," he murmured between kisses, "we are getting forward now, aren't we?"

"As if you're wearing anything more than pants and a thin shirt right now, my love. You're just as desperate for this as I am. It has been much too long."

"You're right, it has been much too long. How about we remedy that immediately?"

Minako giggled as both their hands scrabbled with his clothing, quickly tearing it from his skin and flinging it away from the bed. When that task was finished, Kunzite gathered her two tiny wrists in one of his big hands, holding them tightly and preventing her from touching him.

"Not fair, Kunzite," she groaned as his free hand caressed her breast, causing her to gasp, "I want to touch too… oh!" His lips met her throat and moved quickly to that same breast, kissing it before he took it in his mouth. She felt the most delightful sensations running through her body, and promised desperately that she would be good, if only he would please release her hands.

He assented, loving that the leader of the Sailor Senshi would relinquish control to him, if only for a few moments. He felt her hands roaming his torso, knowing how much she loved the feel of his chest, and loving how she knew exactly where to touch to make him breathe deeper and more raggedly. When her hands reached his neck, sliding back to twine at its nape, he took advantage and lifted her up suddenly, causing Minako to gasp in surprise. She giggled as he carried her around the side of the four-poster bed and laid her in the very centre of the orange sheets.

He stood and stared down at her for a moment, the longing clear in his eyes; so long that she had to reach up, grab his hand, and pull him down beside her. Minako took advantage of her freedom by running her hands along his chest, bringing her lips to his once more, filling their kiss with so much love that they broke apart gasping.

Their hands roamed each others bodies unashamedly, revelling in the feeling of skin against skin, each touch bringing them greater pleasure. It seemed like an eternity of touching and teasing before Kunzite finally had enough of waiting and thrust into her, pausing to allow her to grow used to the intrusion.

When she could breathe properly again, he kissed her gently, lovingly, reminding her that this was about more about the joining of souls, than the joining of flesh. One small, delicate hand caressed his abdomen, and she begged him for more. Their lips met in a sweet kiss before she pushed herself closer to him and invited him to have his wickedly fun way with her. They came together again and again, knowing exactly how to move to give the other the greatest possible pleasure, rising higher and higher above trivial differences and challenges, knowing that this, here, being together, was what mattered.

He brought his lips to hers and kissed her deeply before thrusting into her one final time, bringing them both to an explosive climax that left them so utterly satisfied that it was hard to even speak. Kunzite rolled to the side and pulled his lover against him, holding her lovingly and tenderly. Kunzite bent his head and brought his lips to her ear, kissing her cheek before whispering, "Gods, I love you, Minako. Promise me we'll never be apart for so long again?"

"I promise," she breathed when she could speak again, gold eyes shining as she snuggled up to his side, "I missed you."

* * *

Around 3am, Ami moved from her desk to her bed with the Mercury computer, still typing frantically typing away in the hope that she would discover something fresh about this new enemy. But she was still stuck where she had been a day ago – they knew the enemies were more powerful than Beryl's youma's and that the cardians were being controlled by two pink and blue creatures who were definitely not of this planet. She suspected they had arrived in the meteor that had crashed into the main road and then disappeared a few days ago, since the timing of the collision fit perfectly with an attack by the cardian the next day. 

But really, there wasn't anything more she could do. She had run scenario after scenario, trying to work out where the monsters were getting their power from and still there was no answer. The bluenette sighed and closed the computer, cancelling the diagnostic scan it was performing on a piece of cardian she had salvaged from the last battle. There wasn't any new information to be found. She ran a hand through her lightening blue hair, eyes widening as she wondered exactly how she would look when the transformation was complete. She could have asked the computer to make a prediction, but it was already closed, and she really was rather tired. She knew that by the time it finished she would be taller, her hair lighter, eyes darker, but beyond that who knew? Would she still be the same person? She sighed. They would only know that once all their memories had returned.

Ami placed her precious computer on her bedside table, switched off the light, snuggled into her bedding, drew her blue quilt around her body and closed her eyes, slowly drifting off to sleep.

Zoisite stared tiredly at the monitor of his computer, knowing even the best picture of Sailor Mercury couldn't keep him awake any longer. It was 3am and he had been awake since six that morning, stupidly thinking Kunzite was actually going to hold practice that day even with the events of the night before, and then he was unable to get back to sleep. Unlike the Senshi, Zoisite welcomed the dreams, the pain, the melancholy that came along with them; they made him feel whole, like everything they had been through would be worth it, just so long as Ami was there at the other end, waiting for him with open arms.

He rubbed his eyes with his hands, trying to wipe away some of the tension that had been gathering in his head over the last few hours, but failed. The blonde sighed and switched off the computer, using the back of the chair to stretch his tense muscles before pushing himself away from the desk and walking towards his bedroom. He checked the door, just in case Jadeite was getting over his blues by playing pranks (the younger man had gone to his room an hour before, long enough for him to have rigged almost anything up inside Zoisite's room), and thankfully found nothing.

"Wow," Zoisite murmured to the empty room, "he must really be worried." His mouth twisted into a wry smile, knowing his brother was no less anxious than he was himself. Would that this damned week was over already, but there was still another day to go.

The Shitennou changed into his pyjama bottoms and clambered under the covers of his queen-sized bed, closing his eyes, and trying to calm himself down enough to sleep. Thankfully, his day had been long and tiring enough for Zoisite to fall asleep immediately, drifting quickly into dreams.

The pair opened their eyes to another half-familiar scene. Mercury was in the Great Library of the Moon Palace, clad in her skimpy Senshi uniform as she flicked through the pages of a very old book, looking for an answer to the strange disturbances that had been felt coming from Earth. All of the Senshi and the Queen could feel it, but to everyone else it was as though nothing had changed. So Queen Serenity had charged Mercury with finding out the cause of the disturbances, hoping that it would be something easily fixed that had been experienced in the past.

Mercury knew perfectly well that this was something much more complex than the usual elements of darkness that often welled up on Earth and then dissipated; it felt much more sinister. But she was duty-bound to check the Queen's suggestion first before moving on to her own research, and that meant thoroughly checking every book that referenced this type of event just to prove that this was something more worrisome.

She sighed and closed the large tome, careful not to harm any of its thin and fragile pages. She returned the book to its rightful place and flopped into a large wingback chair, letting the black leather mould itself to her form. The chair was comfortable and the Princess let herself sink into it, allowing her mind to be consumed by thoughts of Zoisite.

The General was always in her mind, though to what extent depended upon what she was doing at the time. Before she had met him, Ami had always thought she would be perfectly sensible when it came to love; what proof did she have to the contrary? But then Zoisite had arrived, looking perfectly handsome in his white, brown and gold uniform, walking into her library with a kind look on his lovely face and enquired after her. She had stared up at him, awestruck, her deep blue eyes wide, and run.

She had run. Ugh. Even now, almost a year later, it embarrassed her to think of their first meeting. Thank goodness he had followed her out into the gardens and soothed her, knowing exactly what to say to calm her down. It seemed he had been harbouring a slight crush on the blue haired Senshi of Mercury for a year before their first meeting, having snuck up to the Moon with Endymion one time.

So, of course, he had taken advantage of her weakened state and kissed her, and what girl could resist a Shitennou, especially the smartest and sweetest of the four?

Well, perhaps one girl could, but Princess Ami was not her.

As though her thoughts had summoned him, Zoisite entered the Great Library and headed straight for where she was sitting with a big smile further enhancing his beauty.

"We're here for a month, love. Endymion spoke to the Queens and managed to convince them to let us stay for a whole month! We'll be training with you, eating with you, studying with you, and Queen Serenity has promised to keep our presence mostly quiet so that we aren't bombarded by annoyingly interested diplomats. And outside training, study, and meals, we'll all have free time!" Zoisite looked positively giddy with happiness, and Ami's eyes widened as she realised what exactly this all meant.

"You mean… they're basically approving our betrothals?" Ami whispered in shock, barely allowing her happiness to colour her words and actions.

Zoisite nodded like a small child and Ami couldn't hold in her squeal, launching herself out of the chair and into his arms. He swung her around until he was carrying her fully in his strong arms and proceeded to leave the library with her, easily transporting her down the long marble corridors to her room. Ami giggled and opened the door for him, unlocking it with her fingerprints before pressing her lips to his neck.

"Love, you realise I changed the system to allow you access, too?" She whispered wickedly into his ear, punctuating her words with kisses to his neck, "You can come in here, any… time… you… want…"

Ami laughed as his eyes widened at the possibilities, and Zoisite quickly kicked the door shut behind him.

"You shouldn't have told me that, love. You know exactly what's going to happen now, don't you?" His voice was husky, filled with lust, longing and desire, so imbued with emotion that Ami couldn't speak. She just nodded, and he placed her gently down on the blue covers of her bed.

"So you're okay with me having my wicked way with you, every… single… night?" Zoisite also emphasised his words with kisses, but they started at her lips and moved slowly down her neck, driving her half to insensibility.

"I think…" she gasped as his lips reached a pressure point, "I can handle that…"

"Good," he whispered and captured her lips, filling the kiss with so much emotion that Mercury lost control of her transformation and reverted to the clothes she had been wearing that morning – a matching set of skimpy blue underwear.

"You little…" Ami grinned at his cut-off words, and proceeded to undo his clothing, already planning all the delicious things she was going to do to him.

* * *

Rei sat cross-legged on her bed, a can of caffeinated soft-drink in one hand and one of her favourite manga's in the other. She was hoping the caffeine would keep her awake, and so far it had been working, but it was only 1.53am and there were still another six hours before she could even think about getting ready for school. The red-head had wasted about five hours of the night washing and drying her hair, making sure it was absolutely perfect before trying out a number of new styles. But that had grown boring, and she had broken most of her hair elastics in frustration. 

To say Rei was grumpy would have been an understatement – it was in the best interests of everyone that she got some more sleep, but the problem then was that she would dream of _him_, and that would only piss her off more. She had sworn black and blue after the last time that if she never saw his face again, she would be a happy woman. The problem was, he invaded all of her dreams, and she didn't know how much longer she could go without sleep. Her stubbornness had helped up til this point, her sheer refusal to even close her eyes out of fear, but it had been almost two days of non-stop work at the Shrine, not to mention the battle a few days ago. She was exhausted, but she couldn't think of another solution.

The miko sighed and pushed her newly red hair back from her face, taking a short moment to marvel at the colour change. Her grandfather had commented upon the change, as had Yuuichiro, but they had both thought better of teasing her about it when they saw the furious look on her face.

Truly, Rei didn't mind the colour that much; actually it was very pretty, in a strange way (especially since there were still black streaks present). Sure, there were plenty of redheads, but no one had ever seen hair this shade of bright crimson before. She liked that it was unique, and she knew it suited her personality perfectly, but there was one thing she absolutely hated about it – _he_ had loved it. Absolutely loved it. He had said time and time again that it was the first thing that drew him to her, alongside her absolutely gorgeous figure and firey personality. And that made her want to dye it all back to black.

She sighed and placed her can on the short bedside table, closing the manga, and curling into a ball underneath the blankets. The Senshi of Mars hated to admit it, and she would deny it if anyone ever accused her of it, but she missed Jadeite. Not in the normal 'oh, I notice he's gone, but I can get used to it' sort of way, but in the 'I don't think I can live if I go one more day without seeing him' way. Her heart ached every day she went without him. She wanted to yell at him, to scream until her face turned blue that she would never forgive him for what he did. Curse him for betraying her and everything she held dear. Hurt him for hurting her.

But she knew, if she could see him again (which she knew she couldn't), that she would forgive him as quickly as she became mad. She would give anything, anything at all to have him back in her arms. She felt empty. She needed him like she had never needed anyone else, and he wasn't there. He had promised to always be there if she wanted him, and she did, so badly. She wanted to scream at the unfairness of the world for taking him away from her, knowing she would never, and could never, love anyone like she loved him.

But he was gone, and Rei cried herself to sleep, welcoming it if only because it would be the only way she could see him ever again.

Jadeite turned off the television, watching Zoisite tapping away at his computer for a long moment before he decided to go to bed. He didn't really want to go to sleep, because then he would be reminded of how he had promised Rei everything, and taken it away with one brutal cut. He didn't think he could ever forgive himself for being so susceptible to Metallia's brainwashing. Surely his love for Rei should have been stronger than his jealously of the freedoms the Silver Millennium experienced. But it hadn't been. He was sure that if he had been tested now, there would be a much different outcome, but he had been untested back then, innocent to the ways of the Dark Kingdom. They all had been. And having gone without Rei for so long only reassured him that he needed her all the more.

The only problem was, would she forgive him? He hoped so, but that tiny bit of hope was overshadowed by a large amount of doubt and fear that told him it was very unlikely she would every really forgive him. After all, he had done the unforgivable. He had killed her. Killed her. Spilled her life's blood coldly, callously, even as a small part of his mind was screaming that this was the biggest mistake of his life.

Worse, he had tried to do it again, time after time when he fought the Senshi. She had always drawn the most of his fury as Dark General Jadeite, and he hadn't known why at the time. He knew now that it was because she represented everything that had once been good about him, and that evil part of his personality had hated that she would be able to bring it all back, given the chance.

Jadeite sighed again, running a hand through his short, curly hair in frustration.

"I'm going to bed, Zoisite, I'll see you in the morning," Jadeite murmured, still half caught by his melancholy. His brother only half nodded his head, and Jadeite shuffled off to bed, feeling incredibly old all of a sudden. He thought about setting a trap for Zoisite, knowing the older General wouldn't be going to bed for at least another hour, but decided against it, knowing he didn't want the other blonde angry at him. The last time someone (okay, he) had pulled a prank on Zoisite when he was heartsick and sad, they had ended up in the medical area of the Palace with three broken bones in each leg.

Jadeite nodded in remembrance, Zoisite was scary when he was pissed.

The blonde stripped his clothes off, leaving only a pair of red boxers on to sleep in. If Rei had been there, he sure as hell wouldn't have been sleeping or wearing clothes, and the bed was eerily empty without her, cold and lonely somehow. He closed the blue eyes she loved so much, and let himself drift off to sleep with her in his thoughts.

Their eyes opened to a bright sunny day on Earth, with four people sparring in the training grounds of the Terran Palace and a fifth looking on.

The fuku-clad Sailor Mars could be heard before she was seen, crimson heels clicking on the grey stone that was used all throughout the Palace of Earth. She followed the path that bordered the training grounds until she came to stand beside Prince Endymion, watching with critical eyes as Jadeite noticed her arrival and was almost defeated by Zoisite's sword.

"Concentrate, Jadeite!" Endymion barked out, "There will always be distractions on the battlefield, you must not let the presence of any one distract you, be they your love or not. You finish your enemy first, and then there is time for other things."

Mars looked slyly at the Prince of Earth, "Is that so, my lord?" she smirked, "Because I seem to remember a certain incident in the training field of the Moon that happens to give evidence to the contrary."

Endymion shot her a sharp look, which softened into a small smile. Of all of Serenity's friends, Princess Rei was the only one who was brutally honest and direct with him. Princess Minako was indirectly honest, as she should be considering her important position as the leader of Serenity's guard, Princess Ami was only honest when she thought it important, and Princess Makoto was brutal and direct, but rarely honest. Truly, they were an odd group, but they were as well matched as his Shitennou.

The Prince called a halt to the training, knowing fully well that Jadeite wouldn't be able to concentrate until he had welcomed his love to Earth.

"Take a break for half an hour, we'll resume after you've all rested a bit," Kunzite called, surveying his men, "and don't think you're getting out of it so easily, my lord, it's your turn next."

"I expected no less, Kunzite," Endymion said, smirking, "Shall we duel next?"

Endymion, Kunzite, Zoisite and Nephrite walked off back into the Palace, their voices becoming quieter and quieter as they decided to have something to eat before they resumed practice. Jadeite waited until they had left before he walked over to Rei, whose red eyes were trained on him.

"Hello, love," he whispered in her ear, standing behind her and delighting in the shiver he felt go down her spine, "Miss me?"

She shook her head, teasingly, knowing that her voice would give it away immediately if she spoke.

"Oh, really?" Rei could hear his eyebrows go up as he spoke, and she found it very hard to not just turn around and kiss him senseless. Of course she had missed him; he was such a dolt sometimes.

"So, then you didn't miss this?" She could hear the smirk in his voice, and felt like her resolve would disappear right then and there as he kissed her neck.

"No? What about this then?" He wrapped his arms about her waist and turned her to face him, smirking harder as she shook her head slightly, "Or this?"

Rei found herself mentally begging him to kiss her, and her wish was granted. Ah, the benefits of a soul-bond between two soulmates. His lips were everything she remembered, soft but still firm, his kiss so full of love and passion that she found it so hard to breathe. Who was she kidding, of course she missed this.

"Not even that?" he asked, smiling gently down at her, his glorious blue eyes meeting her shining red ones.

"Okay," Rei murmured, "I'll admit I missed that. But I can think of something else we can do in half an hour that I missed even more…"

She laughed as his eyes widened, giggled as he grabbed her hand, and joined him in full out bolting to his room.

* * *

Day six of Usagi and Mamoru's specified week passed slowly for all of the ten. Usagi and Mamoru had been unable to get back to sleep after Makoto's early morning call, and so Usagi had snuck out of her house with her boyfriend, leaving her family a note telling them where she had gone. 

The two of them had spent day five together, relaxing at Mamoru's apartment - watching anime and romantic comedies in the hope that it would pass time. Fortunately for them, it had worked. They had found Usagi's curfew looming and Mamoru had rushed her home, pretending to leave when she entered the front door, but actually sneaking into her bedroom and hiding until bedtime. He wasn't about to take any risks when they both needed their sleep so badly, not when there was a new enemy on the loose.

Currently they were at Mamoru's apartment again, but their ingenious time-passing technique of the day before was no longer working. Usagi sighed and looked up at the clock, noting it only said 8am. They were sitting on Mamoru's black leather couch, staring at the uninteresting television screen, room between them. Mamoru frowned, looked at his girlfriend, and knew her mind was focused upon the looming deadline.

He reached out and wrapped his arms around her delicate waist, pulling Usagi closer to him, breathing in the smell that was so uniquely her – a mix of warm, sun-dried silver hair, lavender shampoo, and her favourite perfume – a scent which always managed to calm him down. No matter what millennium it was, she always smelled the same. He would never understand how that worked, but really he didn't care, so long as it never changed.

His mind was tumultuous too, and he knew they were both thinking something similar – that there hadn't been enough time, that the Senshi weren't ready for the shock to their system. But Mamoru had promised, not just as himself but as the Prince of Earth, and he had to honour that declaration. The men had served him well in their past life, and they served him well now, so Mamoru knew he owed it to them to let them see their loves again. He would not, could not, deny them their happiness, no matter how long it would take.

"Mamo-chan?" Usagi's voice was soft, hesitant, as though she had been thinking about asking him something for a few minutes now, but hadn't had the courage.

"Yes, Usako?" Mamoru replied, looking down to see her face was scrunched up and confused, blue eyes filled with worry.

"Did I do the right thing, making them wait like this? I mean, I know I did it for all the right reasons, and it made sense at the time but… I'm afraid they'll… that they'll hate me for denying them a chance to meet their soulmates sooner," the blonde bit her lip in fear, looking down at her lap, "I don't think I could handle it if they hated me…"

Mamoru didn't reply, he just unwrapped one arm from around her waist and turned her face so that she was looking at him. He could see so much worry and fear in her eyes and it broke his heart just a little to see how badly she was affected by her choice. Instead of talking, Mamoru shifted Usagi so she was sitting across his lap, instead of atop it, and bent down to kiss her, trying desperately to reassure her. He felt wet skin beneath his hands as they cradled her face and that caused him to feel unutterable sorrow, he knew he was responsible for at least part of this self loathing.

"Usako, they love you. I love you. They may not understand why you did this immediately, but they will eventually and they will forgive you. They need you too much for anything else. They would never ever punish you for that. We did the right thing, I promise." His words were strong, confident in the knowledge of their truth, and his eyes were so much the same that Usagi couldn't help believing him.

"You promise?" she asked childishly, innocently, as if the entire world depended upon his answer being true.

"I do."

She nodded and snuggled back into his chest, tucking her odangoed head under his chin and letting him wrap his arms around her once again, holding her firmly to him with their hands intertwined.

* * *

The day passed slowly for Minako, even as she was begging it to speed up so that another day of exhaustion would be over. The dream had caused her to be late for breakfast, which had brought the wrath of her parents down upon her. Then she had been over an hour early for the Senshi meeting at Hikawa Shrine and had been forced to wait with an overly grumpy Rei, who felt it necessary to share her feelings with anyone within a hundred metre radius. 

Although tired, Minako did notice that Rei's hair was almost two-thirds crimson by now, the black slowly being drowned out by its natural colour. She was sure her own was shades lighter and much shinier, but it wasn't enough of a difference to be entirely noticeable. Rei's was and the new redhead knew it.

They bickered for that hour while Minako helped Rei with her Shrine duties, wasting time until Ami, Makoto, Usagi and Mamoru arrived. The meeting itself was fairly uninteresting, Usagi and Mamoru seemed to be hiding something but would not divulge their secret, so the other Senshi assumed it was either very important or very unimportant. Either way, of course they wanted to know, but Usagi was getting to be very good at deflecting the topic of discussion onto other people.

Makoto seemed, strangely enough, very well rested, which was bizarre considering she had been just as tired as the other four only a few days ago. Mina was suspicious of that as well, but she was just so tired that it was almost impossible for her to really think about what was going on. Ami was the same, and was so exhausted that she mumbled her way through her discussion of the new enemy, and promptly closed her eyes when she sat back down. Rei didn't even speak.

So Usagi adjourned the meeting early, telling them all to go and get some rest in case there was another cardian attack. Secretly, however, she was thrilled. Rei, Minako and Ami seemed to be close to remembering everything, and Makoto appeared to have been fully gifted with her memories and a good night's sleep. The silver-haired Princess knew she shouldn't be pleased that Nephrite had gone against her orders, but Makoto looked so very happy that she just couldn't begrudge her anything.

The only blonde left in the group, Minako, trudged home and flopped onto her bed, hoping a light catnap would allow her to rest without dreams. Unfortunately, she had miscalculated, but the dreams were so lovely that she didn't have the heart to be unhappy. The worst thing about the dreams was simply feeling like she was being tormented. Like Venus was waving an unattainable possibility in her face and asking her whether she liked it. Well of course she freaking well liked it, but where the heck was Kunzite when you needed him? Dead, that's where. She didn't even care that he had killed her once, and tried to kill her several times after that, not anymore. Now she just missed his presence, the man from before Beryl's corruption.

She awoke late that night, having missed dinner, and gasped out his name, having experienced a particularly vivid memory from the days after his proposal.

"Oh Kunzite, please…" what she was begging for, Minako didn't know, but she felt like saying his name aloud made it more real somehow.

The blonde wasted a few hours tidying her room, trying to be the responsible leader she was meant to be, that the memories had reminded her to be. She organised her thoughts about the new enemy and decided to go scouting again, knowing that the Senshi needed to have as much information as possible if they wanted to defeat them.

Artemis appeared to have come and gone in the hours she had been asleep, leaving a note on her computer saying that he had gone to Usagi's house to spend some time with Luna and that he didn't expect to be home before tomorrow.

Minako raised an eyebrow as she read that message, "Well, Arty, you sly cat…" she whispered teasingly to the air, "Looks like someone's getting some tonight…"

The blonde frowned, that idiom had sounded… wrong. Like it was correct or something. She shook her head, grinning, maybe Princess Minako was really resurfacing.

Using her heightened abilities, she escaped from her house, jumping from her window onto the roof, and from the roof to another roof and so on and until she was close to the Juuban Park. There she dismounted the final roof and set to searching one of the areas of the park she had missed the night before, running quickly in the hope that she would catch something more unusual than a few bums and minor criminals.

Moving into a clearing within the park, Minako noticed a man standing in its centre, seeming like he was waiting for something. His hair was long and pale silver, shimmering brightly in the moonlight, falling straight past his strong shoulders. He was tall, and a few days ago he would have been one and a half times as tall as she, but Minako had grown, and now reached up to his shoulder. But saying that, he was one of the tallest men she had ever seen, with a heavily muscled chest and arms, filling out his light blue shirt perfectly.

She gaped at him as he turned to face her, eyes full of recognition. His face was the one that had haunted her dreams this past week, taunted her with the knowledge that he was dead. Or should have been.

"Kunzite?" she whispered warily, heart singing in delight and brain yelling in fear. Minako held her ground, refusing to move an inch closer to him, mostly out of fear that if she came any closer, he would disappear.

"Is it really you? Are you really there? Or am I asleep and my dreams are tormenting me again?" Her mostly gold eyes were pleading, desperate, "Please don't be a nightmare."

He still did not speak, instead he held out one large hand and smiled, beckoning her to come closer. But she could not move, and so he came to her, treating his love like a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming car. Their hands met and Minako's eyes opened wide, he wasn't a figment of her imagination!

Then, so she knew it was the real him and not the evil brainwashed minion of Beryl, he brought her hand to his lips and kissed it, ever the gentleman. One of Beryl's Generals never would have acted so towards one of the Senshi, they would have simply attacked.

"You're…" it took her a moment to find the words, "You're not evil? Not anymore?"

"No," he said, smiling, "I am myself again."

His words were so formal, so proper, and his voice was so familiar, its depth sent a shiver down her spine. She frowned slightly, taking in every inch of him, then squealed and threw herself at him, knowing perfectly well that her love would catch her as he had done time and time again. She wrapped her legs around his waist, arms around his neck, and laughed as his strong arms enveloped her, holding her up as she had known he would.

Their lips met in a hungry kiss, a millennia of hurt, pain, love, passion and desperation colouring it until Minako wasn't certain whether she was laughing or crying when they broke apart. She rested her head on his shoulder and allowed herself a moment of weakness, crying into his shirt. Kunzite knew she needed a chance to release all the awful pent up emotions she had been feeling, and so just held her, rubbing her petite back with one hand. He kissed her cheek when she finished and told her he loved her, that he had always loved her, and that he would continue to love her. And he promised he would never let any evil person take him away again, be it by murder or brainwashing.

She looked sadly up at him when he finished his declaration, needing to say nothing more than 'I love you.' But she couldn't, not yet. She needed to be sure of something first.

"You're not angry at me, for not fighting harder to save you?" Minako's eyes couldn't meet his, instead they searched out a tree behind his back, concentrating on counting its branches so that she would not see what she thought would be pain in his eyes.

"You're not angry at me for killing you?"

He said it so blithely that Minako couldn't help but gasp and stare at him, "That wasn't your fault and we both know it, it would have been a miracle if you could have escaped the brainwashing that encompassed the Earth! Of course I'm not! … Okay, I'll admit I was a few days ago when I first remembered, but there was so much more to our relationship that it can't just be defined by one moment that neither of us wanted to happen. It didn't make me stop loving you, Kunzite, which is what made it all so much harder. Knowing I loved you and that I couldn't have you? Torture."

"Then you know it is the same for you, my Venusian love. What could you have done? Stolen the Ginzuishou to turn me back? We both know it will only work for the current Serenity, and that was the only thing that would have saved me. This was neither of our faults." Kunzite sighed and placed her back on the ground, staring down at her with such longing and loving in his eyes that Minako couldn't help but fling herself back into his arms.

"Don't you dare ever leave me again, Kunzite. You hear me, love?" she mumbled into his shirt, smelling that strange combination of cologne, polish and just Kunzite, that she had missed so much.

"I hear you, love. And I promise. I love you, Princess Minako of Venus."

"I love you too, General Kunzite of Earth. Now shut up and kiss me again, we have a millennia to make up for."

Kunzite grinned and mock-saluted her, "Yes ma'am!"

Their lips met again, and again, and again until they felt bruised with the amount of emotion they had been forced to convey. When the pair finally broke apart, they decided to stay in a comfortable embrace for a few minutes. They would have continued to stay like that longer, but there was a loud noise behind them, as though something was destroying the park.

Minako sighed, "It's a cardian, isn't it?"

Kunzite nodded, sighing too, "You'd better call the girls. I'll ring the boys."

The blonde pulled her henshin stick out of her subspace pocket and yelled out her transformation words, figuring it was better to be prepared and then call the Senshi, rather than the other way around. She pulled her communicator out, sent out a call to the four girls and quickly told them where she was and what she needed. They promised they would be there as soon as senshi-ly possible (that is, within the next two minutes) and asked her to please not put herself into danger before they got there.

Kunzite hung up his cell phone just as Venus put her communicator away, and they both exchanged a look. They had two options here – go into battle without help and try to hold the cardian off til everyone else got there, or wait and watch people get hurt. Gold eyes narrowed simultaneously with silver and they both nodded, they couldn't let civilians get hurt.

The Leader of the Shitennou called on his powers and used them to transform into his uniform, drawing on the strength of the Earth to help them. Venus nodded when he was finished, clad in a white trimmed tunic and brown pants, sword belted to his waist and a blue-lined, brown cape at his back. Truly, it felt good to be wearing the uniform he had been born for again into battle. Kunzite drew his sword, and the pair ran simultaneously into battle, ready to hold the cardian off until the others arrived.

* * *

**Hey everyone! surprised to see me?**

**Hehe I know I am. Thank you all so much for your kind reviews, my puppies are just fine now! (Which is of course why I could write this chapter). Massive thank yous to Bunniko, who betad this chapter again (seriously guys, go check out her work. She's unbelievable. )**

**Let me know if you liked it okay? I love hearing from you all! Plus, I think I deserve an award for this chapter, it's my longest ever - 9520 words. That's twice as long as most of the other chapters in this story. /laughs/ if you don't tell me what you think, the next chapter might not be so long.. (okay, that's a lie, the length of Chapter 10 is utterly dependent upon the characters etc but still). **

**xx Usa **


	10. Chapter 10

**

* * *

Chapter 10

* * *

**

Unfortunately for Venus and Kunzite, this cardian was considerably more powerful than the ones that had been terrorising the city. Shaped like an oversized wolf, with fiercely glowing red eyes, it had the strength of at least two Senshi, and was made stronger by the countless people it had already drained. It was times like these that Venus hated how popular Juuban Park was, even at night. It only made it easier for the monsters, and so much harder for them.

Her love-me-chain was ineffective against such a strong creature, and Kunzite's sword was doing minimal damage, but at least the damnable thing was being distracted. _Just a few more minutes_, Venus told herself as she dodged yet another lunged attack, _They'll be here soon_.

It was a mantra repeated by Kunzite. They were strong enough to hold it off, the problem was making sure neither of them were injured in the process. The Shitennou was also fighting back an unwavering desire to protect Venus, one he knew was utterly and ridiculously irrational – after all, she was the leader of the Senshi, their strongest fighter, and had been fighting without him and without serious injury for months now! It would do neither of them any good if he attempted to deflect blows aimed at them both. But he wanted to. He really really wanted to.

The giant sinister cardian lunged again at them both, its teeth gouging holes into Kunzite's leg while its claws lashed out at Sailor Venus, half destroying her fuku and leaving painful gashes along her stomach. She doubled over in pain as he clutched his leg with one hand, the palm coming away bloody. They shared a look of distress and threw themselves back into the fight, preventing the cardian from attacking yet another innocent bystander who didn't have the good sense to run away, and therefore probably deserved to have his energy drained. Stupid bystanders.

Thankfully, it was at that moment, just as the cardian was poised to attack the first line of defence once again, that the back up arrived in the form of the Sailor Senshi (and Tuxedo Kamen), heralded by Sailor Moon's traditional war-speech.

The weary blonde warriors sighed in relief, and allowed the Senshi to take over, resting briefly while their wounds healed enough that they could throw themselves once more into battle. But somehow the tide of the battle was still in the favour of the cardian – it was impervious to both Mercury's and Mars's attacks, and barely damaged by Tuxedo Kamen's roses or Jupiter's lightning. Without the Senshi doing the initial damage, Moon could not use her Moon Wand, and was getting steadily more anxious.

Venus's Love-me-chain could do little more than hold the monster in place, while the other girls combined their attacks and struck, cheering as the energy bolt opened wounds on the wolf, and gasping as they healed without scars, not appearing to affect it at all. One cardian should not have so much power! It lashed out at Mercury, who fell to the ground and ceased moving, out cold…

… or worse.

There was a yell from the left of the battle, a man's voice, full of distress.

Kunzite had told them not to reveal themselves unless necessary, that they had made a promise to their Prince and Princess, and that only the direst circumstances could allow such an oath to be broken. He had, however, known that all of his men would do so in an instant if a significant enough threat was made to the life of their soulmate. Admittedly, Mercury was not moving, so understandably Zoisite was going to join the battle; and if one Shitennou joined a fight, they all did – it was part of the unspoken rules.

Thus, the blonde leader of the Shitennou was not surprised to see three of his men come charging into battle, positioning themselves either behind (Jadeite, out of fear Mars would blast him), in front (Zoisite, needing to protect the prone Mercury) or beside (Nephrite, as Jupiter was utterly spent but too stubborn to admit it) their counterparts. Kunzite mock glared at them all, which they all ignored, before running back into battle.

They scuffled with the monster for a few minutes, losing track of who landed what hit where, before a strategic lunge of Jadeites managed to pierce the creature's side. The Shittenou and Senshi fell back, and Moon pulled out her Moon Wand. She cried out the required phrase – Moon Healing Esclataion – only to watch in horror as the Ginzuishou flickered and its light died died. Her face grew stricken as she stared at the Wand – never had it failed her against an enemy, never.

The eyes of the conscious Senshi widened in shock. The Ginzuishou was the basis of the power of the Moon, and without it the only way to remove the threat of a monster was…

To blast it. They had to use all of their powers, combined as one, Senshi and Shitennou alike, and blast the crap out of the monster, all the while hoping it would be enough. Thankfully, Mercury had regained conciousness, and was supported by General Zoisite. Venus and Kunzite looked over their comrades and nodded, signalling with a curious hand gesture. They all knew what it meant.

Moon and Tuxedo Kamen watched on in horror, knowing there was nothing they could do but to allow their friends to do their jobs, and hating every single powerless moment. She didn't understand why the Ginzuishou had failed her, it was incomprehensible.

Each of the eight drew upon their powers, the Senshi linking hands with their Shitennou and channelling their strength through the swords. Once this was completed, all four Shitennou lunged at the creature at once, metal shining blue, green, orange and red, still clutching the hands of their soulmates. The blades pierced the monster simultaneously, and it let out a pitiful wail before shrivelling into a card which turned black and disappeared.

The eight Senshi and Shitennou shared a victorious grin of relief and exhaustion, they had done it, and without the help of the Ginzuishou. That had to count for something.

Then the eyes of Mars and Mercury widened.

Mercury's mouth opened slowly, as though she was waiting for her eyes to deceive her and take Zoisite away, whispering his name in disbelief as she stared down at their intertwined hands.

Finally realising he was actually, definitely, certainly there, Mercury let out a high-pitched squeal of delight (much more like Usagi than her usual composed self) and leapt up into his arms, pressing her lips desperately to his. She almost spontaneously combusted when he kissed her back. It was the most incredible thing she'd felt in a millennia.

Mars's reaction was strikingly different.

Always one prone to melodramatics (though they always appeared natural when performed by her, thank you very much), the redhaired Senshi deliberately looked slowly down with piercing crimson eyes at the hand holding hers, then back up to the face of their owner, and quickly used her free hand to slap him. His glorious face looked hurt, but in that sulky way that she was fond of, not in a serious way.

"Awwww, come on Mars, what was that for?" he whined, pressing a hand to stinging face.

"Think on it, I'm sure you can come up with something," she said coldly, turning her face away from his but never letting their touch falter.

Jadeite frowned before a smile lit up his face, "Because I forgot to do this?"

"What do you mean by -" Rei's haughty words were cut off as Jadeite bent her back into an enthusiastic and dramatic kiss that took her breath (and thought-processes) away. The boy really did know her too well.

After a significant amount of time had passed (more than one mind had begun to think that it must be their superhuman powers that gave them such abilities, and perhaps they ought to be trying them out themselves), Makoto began to cough in a not-so-subtle way to hide snarky comments designed to make the pair break apart. She achieved her goal, earning a glare from Jadeite and a…

A giggle from Rei?

Everyone stared at Rei in shock, blinking rapidly as though they couldn't believe such a sound could emanate from the girl before them. She frowned at them all, and they were glad to see their friend re-emerge.

"I swear Rei-chan, if I ever hear that sound come from you again, I might have to start looking for the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, because the end of the world must be nigh," Venus said seriously, earning some stares of shock from the group as well. She shrugged, it was possible that she got things right every now and then.

There was a long, awkward silence, wherein everyone seemed to be staring at everyone else, not entirely sure what they should be saying to the people they hadn't seen in a millennia. It was only broken by the slightly panicked look on Moon's face, and her awkward giggle.

Mamoru wrapped one arm around her small waist and turned to face the group properly. "I think we need to discuss this, and properly. I'll meet you all at my apartment in fifteen minutes. Remember to go separate ways."

They all nodded, and some of the Shitennou (read: Jadeite) rolled their eyes at his reminder. They were professionals! Nevertheless, they all split off, with Moon and Tuxedo Kamen arriving at the apartment first, and gratefully detransforming. Usagi was, understandably, worrying. There was no explanation for why the Ginzuishou had ceased working, none at all. Sure, this whole situation had left her stressed, left her wishing like they could all just be normal teenagers, but that wouldn't explain her inability to help her friends!

Usagi shook her head, avoiding dangerous thoughts, as Mamoru pulled her into a tight comforting hug. Here, like this, it was easy to believe everything was okay. Even when they were facing a new enemy and her powers weren't working, and even when the Senshi were likely to be feeling something akin to anxiety over the return of the Shitennou. Mamoru's hugs were like that. All-encompassing, and great at making her forget anything but being in his wonderfully warm and strong arms.

Jadeite and Rei were the first to arrive, knocking on the door and continue to bicker playfully as Mamoru let them in. As the recently reunited pair settled on the couch, Usagi heard a rap on the glass sliding door that led to the balcony, and walked over to let Mercury and Zoisite in. A few minutes later, Kunzite, Nephrite, Makoto and Minako appeared at the front door, giggling and flirting as they attempted to pretend Mamoru was having a party, rather than a gathering of superheroes with secret identities to hide.

When they had all settled in the living room Usagi stood, drawing courage from Princess Serenity, since Serenity had been forced to address them many times as leader and future ruler, rather than as friend. Mamoru took a position behind her, watching cautiously. She waited for her girls and best friends to question her, blue eyes hard and posture stiff. As she had expected, Rei and Ami looked at her with faintly accusing eyes after having spoken with Jadeite and Zoisite on their way over. It appeared they had been told about the promise she had forced them to make.

"I-… I'm sorry. You… I suppose you all know what has happened," Usagi took a deep breath and let Serenity take over completely, knowing fully well that she could not talk them as though she were not at fault in this situation.

"I do not know much. From what I can hypothesise, the Shitennou have been returned to us for a two-fold reason. Firstly, I believe they are here as a reward to our Senshi for their dedication. Secondly, I suspect they are here to help us defeat our new enemy."

There was a pause, and Usagi realised she had to do the rest on her own.

"I-I… I'm not sure how to explain what happened next though. They arrived a little under a week ago…and I… I knew… I knew that all of you still hated them," her eyes appealed to her Senshi, and found every one of them staring back at her. "I would never have done it if I didn't think it was for the best, you have to believe me. I didn't do it to hurt you, I didn't… I wanted you to have what I have, and I knew that if I just told you straight away, that you would want to kill them. It was worse, when you started remembering your pasts together."

She took a moment to breathe, and found tears falling from her eyes. Usagi wiped one away carelessly, blue meeting blue and green and yellow and red. "You have to believe me. Because I don't think I could handle it if you hated me. But I'm sure you do. I kept you from each other, I lied to you, I didn't give you the answers you needed. I'm so sorry. So sorry. You must hate me."

Mamoru, sensing she was finished, moved to wrap his arm around her waist, comforting her as no one spoke. Usagi grew more and more panicked. What if they did hate her for making them wait? What if she had made a mistake? She couldn't lose them. They were her sisters. They meant everything to her. Surely they couldn't hate her, wouldn't hate her. Right?

"Usagi-sama."

Ami-chan.

Usagi stared at her oldest friend of all the girls.

"We don't hate you."

Usagi's eyes widened. She couldn't speak.

"Nope," Minako piped up, "We don't. We couldn't! Seriously girl, a week ago we hated them with the burning passion of all the fires of Mars. There was nothing you could have done until we started remembering more!"

Rei nodded, "Don't be ridiculous, Odango! Honestly, that's just like you, trying to take all the blame. I probably would have killed Jadeite if I'd seen him any sooner!"

The blonde Shitennou's eyes widened and he nodded eagerly, "She would have! She's tried it before! Please milady, you must save me if she ever tries again!"

Rei glared, and hit him.

"Anyway, now that Jadeite is done trying to be funny… Of course we don't hate you Usa-chan. We love you! Sure, we wish you'd let us know a little sooner that the boys were back, but you did what you thought was best. And it wasn't a bad decision. It really wasn't. You did good, girl!" Makoto laughed and snuggled into Nephrites side, "After all, any situation where I get Nephrite is a good one."

Usagi's audience all nodded.

Minako piqued up, "Yeah! So stop being silly and plant your cute little patootie on a seat! Kunzy promised me he'd tell me a story!"

Everyone laughed at Minako's use of the old pet name as Kunzite cringed. Some things never changed.

* * *

-- End Chapter 10 --

* * *

**So. Apparently I suck. **In a really bad, this-chapter-has-been-sitting-on-my-harddrive-for-10-months kind of way. What can I say except I'm sorry? I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry!!!

The plan is, I'll post this, and then I'm going to go back and rewrite it a little, because I can't think of another way to get my inspiration back. I'm only 3-4 chapters from the end. So hopefully one or two chapters of that will solve my problem, and you guys will finally get your ending.

Once again, I'm sorry!

xx Usa


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